Nebraska judge tosses lawsuit to keep state from releasing voter data to feds
State’s top election official has said he plans to hand the data to the Justice Department later this week
By: Juan Salinas II, The Nebraska Examiner
LINCOLN – A Lancaster County District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit without prejudice late last week that sought to stop the state from handing over its voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice.
District Judge Lori Maret said in her Friday ruling that Common Cause lacks standing to sue because the alleged harm is speculative and not imminent, and ruling now would not end the controversy surrounding the DOJ request, including what information the Justice Department would ultimately seek or what Nebraska would provide. She also did not rule on the legal question at the heart of the lawsuit.
The judge heard arguments last month. Common Cause argued that Nebraska law affords federal officials no special rights to access residents’ private information included in parts of the voter file. The state argued that federal agencies still play a valuable role in elections overseen by states, noting that the federal government has a wealth of information and resources that help states with election systems.
Voting advocacy group Common Cause has appealed the ruling to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, which gave the case a docket number. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said he plans to hand over the voter data to the DOJ on Thursday.
Evnen told reporters last week that he plans to send a letter to the DOJ with the voter data to remind the agency of “its obligation under law to keep the information confidential and to honor the privacy statutes of our country and our state.”
Federal officials have asked states for names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers, saying they want the information to ensure accurate voter registration rolls, based on reporting in other states. In Nebraska, the information maintained is more limited.
The Justice Department has requested voter data from 44 states and Washington, D.C. so far, with plans to ask for that information from all 50 states. A few GOP-led states have declined or not responded, citing privacy concerns. A majority of Democratic-run states have declined to turn over the information.
Critics have questioned the safety of letting any presidential administration consolidate state voter data in one place. The federal government has sued more than 20 states and the District of Columbia for not complying.
“We believe in the merits of this case, and we will exhaust every option to protect voters,” said Gavin Geis, Common Cause’s Nebraska Executive Director. “Nebraskans shouldn’t have to wait until they experience catastrophic harm to demand that the state protect their private data.”
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s lawsuit seeking Oregon’s voter data last month. The DOJ asked Minnesota to hand over its voter rolls as part of a federal offer to reduce the presence of thousands of immigration agents in the state last month.
The Secretary of State’s Office, in a statement Monday afternoon, confirmed that Evnen intends to hand over the data on Thursday. The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office declined to comment.