A federal judge in Rutland on Thursday dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit seeking Vermont’s voter rolls.
The DOJ sued Vermont in December after Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas refused to share voter registration information, including personally identifiable details, with the federal government.
The Trump administration said in its filing that it requested the information to make sure Vermont was complying with voter list maintenance requirements.
But U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Lanthier, in her ruling on Thursday, wrote that the federal government overstepped its authority.
In a joint statement, Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and Attorney General Charity Clark praised the ruling.
“The court made clear: The Trump Administration had no authority to demand access to the sensitive personal information of voters — including home addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security and driver’s license numbers. Vermont lawfully and correctly refused the Federal Government’s demand,” they said in the written statement.
The Trump administration has sued more than two dozen states that refused to turn over their voter rolls, according to CBS News. So far, federal judges have dismissed 23 of those cases.
