Judge Rules Against Justice Department in Motor Voter Dispute

A federal district judge has ruled against the Justice Department in its lawsuit filed against Secretary of State Robin Carnahan. The judge says Missouri has no authority to force county officials to comply with the National Voter Registration Act, the so-called “Motor Voter Law.” Judge Nanette Laughery says Carnahan is responsible for coordinating state responsibilities on elections, but enforcement of the act rests with the federal government. The lawsuit was filed when the Justice Department found some counties had more registrations than they had eligible voters, that some counties had not properly purged their registration rolls and some had removed people who should not have been removed. But the judge says county officials are independtly elected and are not bound to obey Carnahan’s orders.