Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit seeking New Mexico voters’ protected personal data

U.S. District Judge Judith Herrera dismissed a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking unredacted personal information from New Mexico voter records, the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office announced July 14.

The ruling concerns a federal demand for protected voter information administered by New Mexico election officials. Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver said the state would not risk disclosure of voters’ private data.

Court found demand lacked identified legal basis

According to the secretary of state’s announcement, the court found that the DOJ’s demand letter did not identify a legal basis for requiring the unredacted information. The court also found that the letter did not explain why unredacted personal information was necessary.

The case was dismissed, rather than resolved through an agreement to provide the requested records. The announcement does not provide a federal case number or the full text of the court order.

The dismissal addresses the legal sufficiency of the DOJ demand described in the case. It should not be read as a ruling on the accuracy of New Mexico’s voter rolls, and the announcement does not establish a permanent bar on every possible future federal request for voter information.

State says it has not released unredacted data

The secretary of state’s office said that, as of its July 14 announcement, the DOJ had not obtained unredacted New Mexico voter data through similar lawsuits. The office also said courts had blocked 14 similar cases in other states.

That count is the secretary of state’s characterization of litigation elsewhere; the announcement does not indicate that those cases had identical facts, requests or outcomes.

For New Mexico voters, the dispute centers on whether personal information in voter records may be released in unredacted form through a federal demand. For the Secretary of State’s Office and other election officials, the decision leaves in place the state’s position that it will protect private voter data while administering statewide voter records.

What remains unknown

The available announcement does not state whether the Justice Department will appeal Judge Herrera’s dismissal. It also does not set out a further court deadline or describe any new request for the records.

A separate Justice Department announcement dated May 8 described broader litigation involving New Mexico and Albuquerque. The materials available for this report do not establish additional details about that dispute’s connection to the dismissed voter-data case.