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By Sara Merken<\/p>\n
NEW YORK, Jan 15 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit that sought an unredacted \u200bstatewide voter registration list from California.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge David Carter in \u200cSanta Ana said the Justice Department’s claims were insufficient under federal civil rights law and voting \u200claws, adding that its demands, which included voter names, dates of birth, driver\u2019s license information and partial social security numbers violated privacy laws.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe centralization of this information by the federal government would have a chilling effect on voter registration, which \u2060would inevitably lead to decreasing \u200cvoter turnout as voters fear that their information is being used for some inappropriate or unlawful purpose,\u201d said Carter, who \u200dwas appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration’s Justice Department filed lawsuits against California and several other mostly Democratic-led states in September for not providing voter registration \u200blists. It cited laws it said allowed the attorney general to demand \u200cstatewide voter lists and to ensure states effectively maintained voter data.<\/p>\n
California resisted the request, arguing it was not legally entitled to hand over the voter information.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Thursday, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said she would \u201ccontinue to uphold my promise to Californians to protect our democracy and I will \u2060continue to challenge this administration’s disregard for \u200bthe rule of law and our right to \u200bvote.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Reuters reported in September that the DOJ was in \u200dtalks with a \u2060division of the Department of Homeland Security about transferring voter roll data for use in criminal and immigration investigations.<\/p>\n
Trump and many of his allies \u2060have long spread unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud, including that immigrants living illegally in \u200cthe country are voting in large numbers.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Sara Merken in \u200cNew York; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n