A federal judge has dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to force Oregon to provide an unredacted copy of its voter registration list.
The dispute began after the DOJ requested a full electronic copy of Oregon’s voter rolls to review compliance with federal election laws. Oregon refused to release protected personal data under state privacy laws but offered to provide the publicly available portions of the voter list. The federal government rejected that offer and filed suit.
U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai ruled that the federal laws cited by the DOJ, including the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1960, do not require states to hand over sensitive voter information. The court found the government failed to show a valid legal basis for demanding the private data it sought.
The judge also emphasized that Oregon was already willing to share voter information consistent with state privacy protections. He dismissed the case and denied the DOJ an opportunity to amend the complaint, concluding the legal defects could not be fixed.
