Judge bars DOJ from getting Utah voter list

District Judge David Barlow dismissed a Department of Justice lawsuit on Friday, preventing federal lawyers from forcing Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson to release detailed voter records. The administration sought a complete list of Utah voters, including names, birthdays, addresses, and fragments of identification numbers. Henderson, a Republican and the state’s top election official, opposed the request. The ruling is the latest in a series of legal defeats for the Justice Department regarding voter roll data.

The dispute began when federal lawyers sued Henderson under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. They argued that the law requires officials to make voting records available for federal inspection when those records come into their possession. The DOJ aimed to use this provision to access the statewide voter-registration database used for list maintenance. They contended that the law’s purpose as an enforcement tool for election laws made such access necessary.

Judge Barlow rejected that interpretation. He relied on a prior Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that an ordinary English speaker would not say an official comes into possession of data they created and maintained. Barlow stated that judges have no warrant to elevate vague invocations of statutory purpose over the specific words Congress chose. He dismissed the complaint with prejudice, meaning the DOJ cannot simply refile the same claim but may appeal the decision.

This dismissal adds to more than 25 voter-roll litigation defeats suffered by the Trump administration since it began its campaign against alleged illegal voting. A DOJ spokeswoman told Fox News Digital that the department would appeal the decision. She noted that the only appellate court to review the issue split on largely partisan grounds, with five judges signing dissents from the denial of en banc review. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Henderson reacted to the ruling on the social platform Threads. She wrote that her office appreciates the decision to dismiss the suit seeking private data from every Utah voter. She stated that her team will continue to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the right to free, fair, and secure elections. The Justice Department still has three pending voter-roll cases in Hawaii, Idaho, and Delaware. It is also appealing losses in California and Oregon.

Barlow has served on the federal bench since 2019. He was tapped for the position by President Donald Trump. Before his nomination, Barlow worked as a Republican congressional lawyer, a federal prosecutor, and a private attorney. The administration has charged several individuals with illegal voting since taking power, though it has not uncovered evidence of widespread fraud. The upcoming midterm elections are days away.