Biden-Appointed Judge Strikes Down DOJ Nationwide Voter-Roll Collection Policy

U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, ruled Friday that the Justice Department’s nationwide effort to collect unredacted state voter rolls, compare them against the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, and pressure states to remove flagged individuals is unlawful.

In a 78-page decision, Sooknanan wrote that the department “cannot run roughshod over longstanding laws that were carefully crafted to protect the rights of the American people.” She held that the policy exceeded statutory authority under the Civil Rights Act and related statutes, violated the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act, and risked disenfranchising eligible citizens because SAVE data can be inaccurate. The ruling vacates the policy itself, covering both data already obtained from cooperating states and ongoing demands.

Eighteen states, mostly Republican-led, had turned over full voter files. The department had sued most of the remaining states and lost nearly all of those cases. Common Cause and individual voters who said they were wrongly removed brought the challenge. Sooknanan cited examples of citizens incorrectly flagged.

The Justice Department said it is reviewing the decision. Earlier this year Sooknanan blocked expanded use of SAVE for voter checks; the Supreme Court later stayed that order. Friday’s ruling addresses the separate list-maintenance program built under a Trump executive order directing federal assistance on election integrity.