In a significant legal victory, the state of Michigan has been granted the right to withhold personal data of registered voters, as a federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to access such details. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of a federal judge in Lansing, stating that the release of personal details like birthdates, driver’s license numbers, and portions of Social Security numbers is not mandated by the legislation referenced by the U.S. Justice Department. The court’s 2-1 ruling is part of a broader pattern of judicial rebuffs faced by the administration in its quest to obtain voter data from several states.
Not only has Michigan resisted these efforts, but similar judicial decisions have been made in states including Maryland, Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. In a separate case in Georgia, a lawsuit was thrown out due to a filing error, leading the government to pursue the matter in another jurisdiction.
Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, emphasized that while the federal government can receive a list of registered voters, it would be similar to access available to the general public. The Trump administration’s push for voter data is part of its efforts to verify Michigan’s adherence to federal election laws, citing “anomalies” and related issues in court documents.
Michigan’s legal representatives argue that the federal administration’s true aim may be to construct a national voter database and potentially share this data with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to identify noncitizens who might have registered and voted.
Despite the resistance from Michigan and other states, at least 13 states have either shared or promised to share their voter registration lists with the federal government. These states include Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming, according to reports from the Brennan Center for Justice and the Associated Press.
