A federal judge has dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking voter data from Maryland, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s attempts to obtain state-level voter information.

Background

The Justice Department had sued Maryland to force the release of detailed state voter data, including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. The department claimed it needed the data to ensure states were complying with federal election laws.

However, U.S. District Court Judge Stephanie Gallagher, appointed by President Donald Trump, ruled that the unredacted voter registration file is not a record that a state must produce to the United States. Gallagher’s decision is in line with rulings from other judges who have rejected similar attempts by the Justice Department in other states.

Implications

The dismissal is the ninth time a judge has rejected the Justice Department’s attempts to obtain voter data from states. The department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for the information, but has been met with resistance from many of them.

Democratic and some Republican officials have objected to the Justice Department’s requests, arguing that they violate state and federal privacy laws. At least 13 states have provided or promised to provide their voter registration lists to the department, according to the Brennan Center for Justice and Associated Press reporting.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.