Federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit against Utah election official

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice against Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson. The lawsuit sought to compel the state to hand over unredacted voter rolls containing sensitive personal information, including full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and Social Security numbers.

U.S. District Court Judge David Barlow ruled that the Civil Rights Act does not entitle the federal government to Utah’s complete election records. Henderson had previously refused the request, arguing that disclosing the database would violate state privacy laws.

In a separate development, Henderson noted that the DOJ intends to send election monitors to Utah for the upcoming November midterm elections. She stated that these monitors will not be armed, will not wear identifying insignia, and will not approach or interfere with voters. They are expected to follow state rules for poll watchers, which allow for the observation of ballot processing and signature verification without violating voter privacy.