The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit has ruled that the Department of Justice does not have the authority to demand Michigan's entire voter file from the state's Secretary of State.
The decision was made in a 2-1 ruling, with the court determining that the request for the full voter rolls was part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Republican National Committee and the Michigan GOP. The goal of the lawsuit is to examine Michigan's voter registration system for potential irregularities, particularly the presence of non-citizens on the voter rolls.
Michigan's registration policies have been criticized for making it easy for ineligible voters to be added to the rolls, while also making it difficult to determine if non-citizens are present due to privacy laws that protect the status of non-citizens. This has been a concern for election integrity advocates for years, who have pointed out the vulnerabilities in the state's voter registration system.
Recently, a report revealed that six individuals who are on the Department of Homeland Security's list of "Worst of the Worst" non-citizens are registered to vote in Michigan, and two of them have voted in multiple elections.
The court's decision is a significant setback for the Department of Justice's efforts to examine Michigan's voter registration system, and it raises concerns about the integrity of the state's elections process.
