Judge denies another Trump administration attempt to meddle with voter data in Common Cause v. DOJ

In a ruling on Nov. 2, Federal District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan denied the DOJ’s motion for a stay pending appeal in Common Cause and individual voters’ ongoing lawsuit challenging the federal agency’s attempts to obtain sensitive voter data and exercise control over states’ election processes. In response, Common Cause and its legal counsel issued the following statement:

“Once again, the Trump administration’s efforts to hijack the elections have been stopped by a federal court. As today’s decision reaffirms, the executive branch has no business meddling in how states manage their voter rolls—and no legal authority to do so. As they get increasingly desperate, the Trump administration keeps trying new twists on the same plan to meddle in November’s elections, and the courts keep saying ‘no.’ States have the constitutional authority to run elections, not the President. 

“In American democracy, voters choose their elected leaders, not the other way around. Today’s decision deals yet another blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to gerrymander the voter rolls. The Department of Justice has no authority to—and no legitimate purpose for—consolidating voter data.

“Voters can cast their ballots this November with confidence that their personal information is protected.”