Nebraska judge tosses lawsuit to keep state from releasing voter data to feds
Source: Nebraska Examiner
State’s top election official has said he plans to hand the data to the Justice Department later this week
By: Juan Salinas II - February 9, 2026 1:49 pm
LINCOLN – A Lancaster County District Court judge dismissed a lawsuit without prejudice late last week that sought to stop the state from handing over its voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice.
District Judge Lori Maret said in her Friday ruling that Common Cause lacks standing to sue because the alleged harm is speculative and not imminent, and ruling now would not end the controversy surrounding the DOJ request, including what information the Justice Department would ultimately seek or what Nebraska would provide. She also did not rule on the legal question at the heart of the lawsuit.
The judge heard arguments last month. Common Cause argued that Nebraska law affords federal officials no special rights to access residents’ private information included in parts of the voter file. The state argued that federal agencies still play a valuable role in elections overseen by states, noting that the federal government has a wealth of information and resources that help states with election systems.
Voting advocacy group Common Cause has appealed the ruling to the Nebraska Court of Appeals, which gave the case a docket number. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen has said he plans to hand over the voter data to the DOJ on Thursday.
People voting early at the Neptune Senior Citizen Center in Neptune, N.J. on Oct. 29, 2022. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor)
Read more: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/02/09/nebraska-judge-tosses-lawsuit-to-keep-nebraska-from-releasing-voter-data-to-feds/
= new reply since forum marked as read
