Federal Appeals Court Questions Justice Department Authority Over State Voter Data

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit heard arguments Tuesday in cases involving California and Oregon. The panel questioned whether federal law requires states to provide full voter registration lists including personal data. The Justice Department has filed lawsuits in dozens of states seeking voter registration information under the National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, and Civil Rights Act of 1960.

The suits seek lists that include Social Security numbers and driver's license information.

Federal district courts have dismissed similar suits against California, Oregon, Arizona, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Michigan. Judges in those cases ruled that federal law does not compel states to turn over the requested data. U.S. District Judge David Carter dismissed the California case, stating the government's request was unprecedented and illegal.

U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai rejected the Oregon case in a sharply worded opinion.

U.S. Circuit Judge Lucy Koh asked Justice Department lawyer Andrew Braniff why the initial letter to Oregon officials did not cite the Civil Rights Act of 1960 if that authority was clear. Braniff replied that the first letter aimed to give Oregon an opportunity to work with the department on voter roll maintenance.

Oregon lawyer Robert Koch argued that the Justice Department seeks to reinterpret a 66-year-old statute to create a federal database of every registered voter. U.S. Circuit Judges Mark Bennett and Salvador Mendoza Jr. The Office of Legal Counsel issued a non-binding opinion last week stating that the Justice Department has authority to seek statewide voter registration lists and that privacy laws do not limit that authority.