Law Forward, ACLU, Common Cause Fight to Protect Wisconsin Voters’ Private Data From Trump Administration Demand
Groups urge federal court to dismiss DOJ lawsuit seeking unredacted statewide voter file
MADISON, Wis. — Law Forward and the American Civil Liberties Union filed a brief Friday on behalf of Common Cause and individual Wisconsin voters urging a federal court to dismiss a Trump administration lawsuit demanding Wisconsin hand over the complete, unredacted electronic voter registration list of every voter in the state, which includes sensitive personal data the state is prohibited by law from disclosing.
The filing is part of United States v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, in which the U.S. Department of Justice is attempting to invoke a 1960 civil rights law to demand Wisconsin’s full electronic voter registration list and data, including partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers.
“The Trump administration wants Wisconsin to hand over every voter’s private information, with no real explanation for why it needs it and no plan for what it will do with it,” said Doug Poland, Law Forward’s Director of Litigation. “The only federal courts to rule in similar cases brought in other states have rejected nearly identical efforts to access personal voting data because this is nothing more than an illegal attempt by the administration to gather and weaponize data on Americans. Our court filings urge the judge to reject this effort, and we are proud to stand with Wisconsin voters in opposing this overreach by the federal government.”
“Voter data should never become a tool for surveillance, intimidation, or political gamesmanship. The current administration is demanding Wisconsinites’ most sensitive personal information with no safeguards and no credible justification. Common Cause is in court to help protect voters’ privacy and defend the freedom to vote without fear,” said Bianca Shaw, Common Cause Wisconsin State Director.
“WEC did the right thing by following state and federal law that protect voters’ right to privacy,” said Ryan Cox, Legal Director of the ACLU of Wisconsin. “We’re stepping in to make sure the federal government does not get away with superseding the law and abusing its power to play politics with our right to vote and undermine faith in our democracy.”
The brief argues that the Trump administration’s demand is legally deficient on multiple grounds and that the administration’s stated rationale, routine voter list maintenance, is a pretext. The filing details a substantial body of evidence: DOJ has already shared state voter data with election-denier advocacy groups; the Attorney General personally linked voter file demands to immigration enforcement; and in a Minnesota court hearing earlier this month, DOJ admitted it did not know whether the administration could use state voter files to build a comprehensive database of every person who has voted in the country.
Federal courts in California, Ohio and Oregon have already rejected materially identical DOJ demands in those states.
The brief also argues that even if DOJ’s demand were otherwise valid, federal law does not entitle the government to unredacted records, and that courts have consistently held that similar statutes permit, and sometimes require, redaction to protect voters’ constitutional rights.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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