Judge Bars DOJ From Accessing Utah Voter Records
A federal court dismissal marks the 26th loss in the administration's voter roll litigation campaign.
By Mateo Thompson ·
U.S. District Judge David Barlow dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson on Friday. The ruling prevents federal lawyers from compelling the state official to release a comprehensive database of Utah voters days before the midterm elections. This decision represents the 26th defeat for the administration in its legal efforts to secure voter registration data across various states.
The Justice Department sought a complete list of registered voters in Utah. The requested data included names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and either driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Federal attorneys argued that the Civil Rights Act of 1960 required Henderson to make voting records available for inspection because they came into her possession. Barlow rejected this interpretation, citing a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that defines possession. The judge noted that an ordinary speaker would not say a person possesses data they created, established, and maintained.
The DOJ countered that the statute served as an enforcement tool for federal election laws. They argued that excluding the statewide voter-registration database used for list maintenance would undermine the law's purpose. Barlow disagreed with this approach. He stated that judges have no warrant to elevate vague invocations of statutory purpose over the words Congress chose. The judge dismissed the complaint with prejudice, barring the department from simply refile the same claim, though an appeal remains possible.
Henderson, a Republican who serves as Utah's top election official, welcomed the decision. She stated on Threads that her office would continue to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the right to free, fair, and secure elections. She described the lawsuit as an attempt to force the disclosure of private data belonging to every Utah voter. The White House did not respond to a request for comment regarding the ruling.
A DOJ spokeswoman told Fox News Digital that the department would appeal the decision. She noted that the only appellate court to review the issue had split on largely partisan grounds. The spokeswoman added that five judges in the Sixth Circuit signed dissents from the denial of en banc review. The administration has yet to uncover evidence of widespread voter fraud despite charging several individuals with illegal voting since taking power.
Three pending cases related to voter rolls remain open in Hawaii, Idaho, and Delaware. The Justice Department is also appealing losses in California and Oregon. Barlow was tapped by President Trump to serve on the federal bench in 2019. Prior to his nomination, he worked as a Republican congressional lawyer, a federal prosecutor, and a private attorney.
