Judge rules US Justice Department filed a lawsuit over Georgia voter data in the wrong city
ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge in Georgia dismissed a lawsuit Friday US Department of Justice case The federal government, which had asked the state for voter information, had filed a lawsuit in the wrong city.
U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal ruled that the government should sue Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in Atlanta rather than in a separate federal judicial district in Macon, where the secretary of state also has an office.
Royal dismissed the case without prejudice, which means the Justice Department can reopen the case. The ministry declined to comment Friday.
Ministry of Justice is now lawsuits filed against 24 states and the District of Columbia seeking voter information as part of their efforts. collect detailed voting dataIncluding birth dates, driver’s license and Social Security numbers. A federal judge in California dismissed the lawsuit against that state on privacy grounds, while a judge in Oregon suggested he might dismiss the case there.
Trump administration characterizes lawsuits In an effort to ensure election security, the Justice Department says states are violating federal law by refusing to provide voter lists and information.
Raffensperger was one of the rare Republicans to reject the request, saying Georgia law prohibits the release of private voter information unless certain qualifications are met. Raffensperger argues that the federal government has failed to meet these conditions. He said he shared the public portion of the voter rolls and information about how Georgia removed ineligible or outdated registrations in December.
“I will always follow the law and the Constitution,” Raffensperger said in a statement Friday. “I will not violate my oath to stand up for the people of this state, no matter who or what forces me to do otherwise.”
The refusal to turn over the records has become an issue in Raffensperger’s 2026 race for governor. Raffensperger rejected the request from President Donald Trump in a phone call in January 2021. “Find” enough votes To overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. Many Trump-loving Republicans still hold a grudge against Raffensperger.
problem it only flared up on thursday At a hearing by a state Senate committee, several Republican state senators criticized Raffensperger for not complying, saying he could legally do so. Committee votes to toe party line a solution It calls on Raffensperger to turn over the data, calling it “the latest example of a pattern of behavior by the secretary and his office to refuse to oversee the administration of Georgia elections.”
Republican State Sen. Randy Robertson of Cataula, who introduced the resolution, said the impeachment was “frustrating” because it would take longer to resolve the issue even if the Justice Department reopened the case.
“As public officials, we must all participate in any investigation by law enforcement,” Robertson told The Associated Press on Friday.
Robertson is one of many Republican lawmakers who are supporting Lt. Gov. Burt Jones against Raffensperger for the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Jones, who already had Trump’s governorship support, was one of them. 16 state Republicans People who signed a certification declaring Trump won Georgia and declared themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.
