Judge blocks DOJ Utah voter data bid

The Justice Department has lost more than 25 federal lawsuits challenging state voter rolls since the current administration took office. On Friday, District Judge David Barlow dismissed the latest case against Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson. The ruling came days before the midterm elections. Barlow, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Donald Trump in 2019, ruled against the administration’s demand for a complete database of Utah voters.

The suit sought specific personal data for every registered voter in the state. This included names, dates of birth, and home addresses. The department also requested driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Federal lawyers argued that the Civil Rights Act of 1960 required Henderson to provide records that came into her possession. They claimed this statute serves as an enforcement tool for federal election laws.

Barlow rejected that interpretation. He cited a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling which found that an ordinary speaker would not say a person possesses something they created and maintained. The judge stated that courts have no warrant to elevate vague invocations of statutory purpose over the specific words chosen by Congress. He dismissed the complaint with prejudice, preventing the department from simply refiling the same claim.

Henderson, a Republican and the state’s top election official, called the decision a victory for privacy. She posted on Threads that her office would continue to safeguard the fundamental right to free, fair, and secure elections. The Justice Department signaled it will appeal the decision. A department spokeswoman noted that the only appellate court to review the issue had split on largely partisan grounds. She added that five judges in the Sixth Circuit signed onto dissents from denial of en banc review.

The administration continues to pursue other legal battles regarding voter records. The department has three pending cases in Hawaii, Idaho, and Delaware. It is also appealing losses in California and Oregon. While the Trump administration has charged individuals with illegal voting, it has not yet uncovered evidence of widespread fraud. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Barlow served as a Republican congressional lawyer, a federal prosecutor, and a private attorney before his nomination. His decision in this case adds to a growing list of judicial setbacks for the department’s voting integrity campaign. The dismissal ends the current legal fight over Utah’s voter files but leaves the broader statutory interpretation unresolved until a higher court reviews the matter.