DOJ appeals dismissal of lawsuit seeking Arizona's voter data

The Department of Justice appealed a federal judge’s decision to toss out a lawsuit attempting to force Arizona to turn over its voter rolls to the Trump administration.

In April, Judge Susan Brnovich dismissed the lawsuit that sought to force Arizona to give federal investigators access to sensitive voter information, including social security numbers.

The Trump administration has filed similar suits against at 30 states as it attempts to create a federal citizenship verification database.

Attorneys with the Justice Department argued it has the authority to obtain that voter information under federal law as it seeks to ensure states are properly maintaining their voter rolls.

But Brnovich, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump in 2018, disagreed, finding that the exact information sought by the administration goes well beyond information the DOJ is entitled to under federal law.

She sided with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, both Democrats, who argued that sensitive information included in Arizona’s voter rolls is protected by state and federal privacy laws.

Other federal judges have rejected similar lawsuits filed by the federal government in Maine, Wisconsin, California, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Rhode Island.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice appealed Brnovich’s ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In a statement, Fontes called the appeal “legally futile.”

"The DOJ's announcement that it plans to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that barred them from accessing Arizona’s voter registration database today is nothing more than ongoing political theater and further damage to Arizona taxpayers,” he said.

Fontes, who previously acknowledged that some data sought by the federal government is public record, denied allegations he is withholding information. He said the DOJ has not requested that publicly available information.