DOJ Appeals Dismissal to Access California’s 23 Million Voter Records
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 12
DOJ Appeals Dismissal to Access California’s 23 Million Voter Records
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 12
Summary
A January district-court dismissal is now before the Ninth Circuit after the Justice Department appealed its failed bid to obtain California’s unredacted statewide voter rolls for a federal audit.
The dispute turns on DOJ demands for an electronic file with all fields, while California says it offered only a redacted database for in-person inspection in Sacramento to protect voter privacy.
The judge who threw out the case said DOJ sought an unprecedented trove of personal data — including names, Social Security numbers, home addresses and voting history — from nearly 23 million Californians.
DOJ says the records are needed to examine roll maintenance, deceased or moved voters, disqualifying felons, identity-verification rules and ballot collection practices that it argues warrant scrutiny.
California officials say courts have consistently rejected similar federal demands, noting DOJ has lost all 8 decided voter-roll cases and has filed about 30 such suits nationwide.