Sparkle Sooknanan strikes down DOJ voter database effort in Washington
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington halted a federal voter registration records program on Friday. The national decision blocks federal officials from collecting state voter files to identify noncitizens.
Sooknanan ruled the Department of Justice exceeded its authority. She found the agency broke federal privacy laws by gathering sensitive voter files. Officials then shared those records across agencies to review citizenship status.
The 78-page ruling dismantled the entire list maintenance policy nationwide. Multiple states had previously won similar legal challenges in their own jurisdictions.
“DOJ cannot run roughshod over longstanding laws that were carefully crafted to protect the rights of American people,” Sooknanan wrote.
The ruling decided an April lawsuit. The voting rights group Common Cause and four voters filed the case. The plaintiffs accused the administration of building a voter surveillance and purging apparatus before November elections.
They argued federal officials tried to control procedures normally managed by states. That move put eligible citizens at risk of wrongful removal, according to the plaintiffs.
The initiative started last year under an executive order from President Donald Trump. The order directed federal agencies to collaborate with states on election law enforcement.
Federal officials sought unredacted voter files across the country. The requests sought several sensitive details:
- Full voter names
- Home addresses
- Partial Social Security numbers
At least 18 states gave their files to the agency. The department shared those records with the Department of Homeland Security. Officials then matched files in the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database.
The cooperating states agreed to act fast. They agreed to purge flagged names within 45 days of notice.
Sooknanan said the government ignored known risks of misidentifying voters. She cited a 2006 Social Security Administration audit. That report found government data had misidentified roughly 3.3 million citizens as noncitizens.
“The Court vacates a policy that has removed United States citizens from the voter rolls in their home states and risks disenfranchising many more,” Sooknanan wrote.
District courts in Washington hear challenges involving federal agency rules. A nationwide injunction stops an agency policy across every state. Federal agencies can appeal district court orders to higher courts.
The order halts the program even in states that voluntarily cooperated with Washington officials.
