Federal Court Rules Arizona Voter Rolls Not Required Under Civil Rights Act of 1960

The court granted Secretary of State Adrian Fontes' motion to dismiss, finding the Attorney General failed to state a claim under Title III of the 1960 act. The complaint alleged Fontes violated federal law by refusing to produce the list, which includes voters' full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and driver's license or Social Security numbers.

The Justice Department had requested the list as part of an investigation into Arizona's compliance with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act. Fontes refused, citing state and federal privacy laws that prohibit releasing the identifying information.

The court focused on whether the statewide voter registration list qualifies as a "§ 20701 document" under the statute. Section 20701 requires states to preserve records that "come into [the state's] possession relating to any application, registration, payment of poll tax, or other act requisite to voting."

The judge adopted the reasoning from a recent ruling in United States v. Benson, which held that Michigan's voter registration list was not covered. The court found the phrase "come into possession" refers to documents voters submit to the state, not records the state creates or compiles.

The Benson court found that the phrase "refer[s] to only those documents that state election officials receive from prospective voters," and noted that this meaning would be superfluous if it also encompassed records the state created, the Fontes order stated.

The judge rejected the Attorney General's argument that the statute's language is broad enough to include electronic or non-public records. The court noted that previous cases cited by the Justice Department did not affirmatively find that statewide voter lists are covered.

The ruling also addressed potential conflicts with other federal election laws. The judge explained that if the voter list were a preserved document under the 1960 act, Section 20702 would prohibit states from altering it. This would conflict with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, which require states to maintain and update their voter rolls.

"Considering this requirement, if the SVRL were deemed a § 20701 document, then the NVRA would conflict with § 20702 because it requires a state to update or amend the SVRL as necessary," the order said.

The Justice Department sued 29 states and the District of Columbia for production of their voter registration lists. As of the date of the order, five courts have dismissed the lawsuits.

The judge dismissed the claim with prejudice, finding that amendment would be legally futile.