Federal Judge Upholds the Right to Inspect Maryland Voter Rolls

Maryland is finally learning what other states have learned: federal law requires transparency in the voting process.

District Court Judge Matthew J. Maddox of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland struck down a Maryland State Board of Elections regulation that restricted and criminalized the use of voter registration lists for voter fraud and other “investigations.”

Citing a separate Judicial Watch court victory in Maryland that opened up voter rolls to public scrutiny under federal law, the court recognized that restricting the use of the state’s voter rolls presented an obstacle to upholding federal voter roll maintenance as required by the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA).

This ruling comes in the case Katherine Strauch Sullivan, et al., v. Michael G. Summers, et al., (No. 1:24-cv-00172), in which we filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the Maryland voters who challenged the new rule:

One of the many necessary documents in order to determine whether a jurisdiction is in compliance with the NVRA’s list maintenance provisions are the voter registration list with voter history for prior general federal elections. These records were at issue in 2017, when Judicial Watch sued in this Court alleging that the state law requirement to be a Maryland registered voter was unlawful and preempted by the NVRA’s public disclosure provision…. This Court agreed, finding that both the records requested in the voter registration list were subject to disclosure under the NVRA and the state’s requirement to be a registered voter frustrated the purposes of the federal law and was preempted by it.

As several federal courts have recognized, the public records provisions of the National Voter Registration Act were intended to enhance the ability of private groups to monitor whether states are removing ineligible voters from their voter rolls. In August 2019, a federal court in Maryland noted that organizations “such as Judicial Watch” have “the resources and expertise that few individuals can marshal. By excluding these organizations from access to voter registration lists,” the purpose of the federal law is undermined. That court ordered Maryland to produce the voter registration list, with fields indicating name, home address, most recent voter activity, and active or inactive status. In April 2020, the same court ordered Maryland to provide Judicial Watch with the dates of birth.

Judge Maddox notes in his opinion: “On or around June 2023, the SBE [Maryland State Board of Elections] adopted the regulation restricting the use of voter registration lists by Maryland voters who request them.”

A voter requesting access to the voter registration list, including voting history, must provide a signed and sworn statement that the list is not intended for commercial solicitation or any other purpose “not related to the electoral process.” …

As they have done in the past, Plaintiffs [Sullivan] anticipate using the registered voter list from the SBE [State Board of Elections] and voting histories for registered voters to conduct statewide investigative canvasses to identify and analyze what they believe are potential errors, irregularities, or anomalies within MDVOTERS [voter database going back to 2006].

Judge Maddox’s opinion concludes:

In sum, the Court concludes as a matter of law that the Use Restriction in COMAR [Code of Maryland Regulations] … presents an obstacle to accomplishing and executing the purposes and objectives of the NVRA [National Voter Registration Act] and is, therefore, preempted.

This new federal court ruling affirming a transparency requirement for voter registration lists is an important victory for Maryland voters and election integrity. It was truly outrageous that Maryland election officials tried to criminalize voters asking questions about election integrity.

As you know, we are a national leader in voting integrity and voting rights. As part of our work, Judicial Watch assembled a team of highly experienced voting rights attorneys who stopped discriminatory elections in Hawaii, and cleaned up voter rolls in California, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, among other achievements.

Earlier this month, we sent a notice letter to Lt. Governor Deidre M. Henderson, notifying her that Utah is currently in violation of federal NVRA public disclosure requirements. The notice letter warns of a lawsuit after 90 days if the issues are not resolved.

In July 2023, we filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief, supporting the decision of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, which struck down Maine’s policy restricting the use and distribution of the state’s voter registration list. The lawsuit is now in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. According to a national studyconducted by Judicial Watch in 2020, Maine’s statewide registration rate was 101% of eligible voters.

Also in July 2023, we settled a federal lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Elections, requiring it to grant access to its centralized statewide list of registered voters. State officials had refused to allow the nonprofit Illinois Conservative Union and three lawfully registered Illinois voters to obtain a copy of the state’s voter registration list, despite their lawful request for those records under federal law.

In recent years, Judicial Watch’s analysis and use of voter registration lists has led to lawsuits and legal actions that have resulted in the removal of four million names from voter rolls in nearly a dozen states and localities, including Los Angeles County and New York City.

Full Appellate Court Takes Historic Step to End Counting of Votes Received after Election Day

This is an important victory for Judicial Watch. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit declined to rehear its previous ruling, in which it agreed with Judicial Watch that it was unlawful for Mississippi to count ballots that arrived after Election Day. The full Circuit declined to hear the case by a vote of 5 to 10.

We filed a civil rights lawsuit in February 2024, challenging the Mississippi election law on behalf of the Libertarian Party of Mississippi (Libertarian Party of Mississippi v Wetzel et al. (No. 1:24-cv-00037)). The suit was consolidated with one filed by the Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party, and other complainants.

(We filed the first challenge to require all ballots to be received by Election Day in 2022 against Illinois.)

The October 25, 2024, Fifth Circuit appellate opinion at issue found:

Congress statutorily designated a singular “day for the election” of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors. Text, precedent, and historical practice confirm this “day for the election” is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials. Because Mississippi’s statute allows ballot receipt up to five days after the federal election day, it is preempted by federal law. We reverse the district court’s contrary judgment and remand for further proceedings.

Earlier this month, we filed a federal lawsuit against California on behalf of U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa to prevent state election officials from extending Election Day for seven days beyond the date established by federal law. California counts ballots received up to seven days after Election Day.

In an Illinois “Election Day” lawsuit in November 2024 we filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court challenging the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in the case filed on behalf of Congressman Mike Bost and two presidential electors from Illinois to prevent state election officials from counting ballots received up to 14 days after Election Day.

This Fifth Circuit action is a historic victory for honest elections. Federal law sets “Election Day” not “Election Week.” California and the 17 other states should take notice. Our lawsuit just filed against California for counting ballots received for up to seven days after Election Day has even more urgency and strength.

Judicial Watch Sues for DHS Records on Trump Assassination Attempt at Butler, PA

Why is there so much secrecy surrounding the assassination attempt on Donald Trump?

To find out, we filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for records related to security provided for the July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, PA, during which there was an assassination attempt on President Trump (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-00704)).

The lawsuit was filed after the agency failed to comply with a July 15, 2024, FOIA request for:

All records, including emails, email chains, email attachments, text messages, video or audio recordings, photographs, outlook calendars, meeting minutes, correspondence, statements, letters, memoranda, reports, briefings, presentations, notes, summaries, requests for assistance, agreements, travel records, receipts, or other form of record, regarding providing support or manpower to President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign rally that was held in Butler, PA, on July 13, 2024.

The request specifically sought records from the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations, which is believed to have helped provide security at the Butler event.

On July 13, 2024, at a campaign rally in Butler, PA, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinatePresident Donald Trump. After the attempt on President Trump’s life, former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas named a bipartisan panel to conduct a 45-day independent review of the planning for and actions before, during, and after the rally.

Federal agencies need to come clean on the events that led up to the assassination attempts on President Trump. It is now  eight months since the first attempt, and the American people have yet to receive any answers under FOIA on the failures of the Biden administration to protect President Trump.

We are extensively investigating the assassination attempts on President Trump.

In August 2024, we received Secret Service records that showed the Secret Service has made it a top priority that “diversity and inclusion is not just ‘talked about’ – but demonstrated by all employees through ‘Every Action, Every Day.’” [Emphasis in original]

We also uncovered records from the district attorney’s office in Butler County, PA, detailing the extensive preparation of local police for the rally at which former President Trump was shot, including sniper teams, counter assault teams and a quick response force.

In response to a separate open records request, we obtained bodycam footage of the July 13 assassination events from the Butler Township Police Department.

We reported that the FBI withheld information on a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for information about its coordination with the U.S. Secret Service regarding the July 13 Butler, PA, rally.

On July 31, we reported that the United States Secret Service completely denied multiple FOIA requests for documents about the assassination attempt on former President Trump.

Judicial Watch Sues for Files on Former Trump Lawyer Christina Bobb

We’re taking another step to expose the Biden administration’s legal persecution of Donald Trump.

We filed lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security for records regarding Christina Bobb, a former lawyer for President Trump.

We also announced that Bobb has joined the litigation team at Judicial Watch.

We sued the Justice Department after the FBI failed to respond to a January 24, 2025, FOIA request for records about Bobb (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:25-cv-00588)).

Among other records, the lawsuit seeks all related investigative reports, intelligence products, or similar records, as well as all records of communication between any official or employee of the FBI and any official, employee, or representative of any other branch, department, agency, or office of the federal government mentioning or referring to Bobb.

We sued Homeland Security after the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) failed to respond to January 24, 2025, FOIA request for all records regarding Bobb’s enrollment in the TSA PreCheck Program and any cancellation or suspension of that enrollment, as well as all records of communication between any official or employee of TSA and any official, employee, or representative of any other branch, department, agency, or office of the federal government mentioning or referring to Bobb (Judicial Watch Inc. v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (No. 1:25-cv-00834)).

Bobb was an attorney for President Trump from 2022-2024 before joining the Republican National Committee to assist election integrity efforts for the 2024 election.

She was a part of Trump’s legal team during the Biden Justice Department’s pursuit of the classified documents case.

On August 8, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. Bobb was Trump’s custodian of record at the time and was at Mar-a-Lago during the raid.

The classified documents case was ultimately dismissed by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in July 2024.

Bobb, a former on-air host for One America News Network, is also the author of Stealing Your Vote: The Inside Story of the 2020 Election and What it Means for 2024.

Bobb joins the Judicial Watch team after working for President Trump and his campaign to secure the 2024 election. In 2022, she joined President Trump’s PAC Save America to help secure America’s elections and ensure President Trump received a fair opportunity to win the White House again.

Bobb has been a long-time friend of Judicial Watch and an advocate for government accountability.

Shortly after she began working for the president, the Department of Justice and FBI embroiled her in both Jack Smith investigations of the Mar-a-Lago documents and January 6. She saw firsthand how partisan government operatives abuse their authority to eliminate political opposition, and she’s now determined to eliminate partisan threats from the government.

Prior to working for President Trump, Bobb held executive level positions in the Department of Homeland Security, served in the United States Marine Corps as a Judge Advocate, practiced civil litigation in San Diego, and now returns to her litigation roots with Judicial Watch in Washington, D.C.

Bobb commented: “I am thrilled to be joining the litigation team at Judicial Watch. There is no better organization to hold government officials accountable for their actions. At this time in history, there is no greater mission than to root out government corruption. I’m grateful to be on the team.” Christina’s unique experience and dedication make her a perfect fit for our mission. We’re happy to have her join the team and look forward to having her skills and expertise help expose the full extent of anti-Trump lawfare and government corruption.

U.S. Global Media Agency Fired Journalists Behind Newscast Critical of Soros

The tax-funded agency meant to proclaim U.S. values to the world was turned into an anti-American propaganda machine, which the Trump administration is now moving to shut down. Our Corruption Chronicles blog explains.

The government-funded media syndicate being dismantled by President Trump spreads anti-U.S. propaganda, covers news with a distinct leftist bias and even utilized Stalinist techniques to retaliate against journalists and producers behind a newscast—that cited Judicial Watch as a source—critical of leftwing billionaire George Soros. The taxpayer-funded news agency also ordered staff to refrain from calling Hamas terrorists, suppresses negative stories about Iran, has been infiltrated by anti-American, pro-Islamic state interests and employed a Russian anti-U.S. propagandist. This history indicates that scrutiny of the public conglomerate, known as U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), was long overdue. The president’s recent executive order to gut it will save American taxpayers around $900 million a year that could easily be applied to a myriad of domestic programs.

Five international media networks—Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting—operate under USAGM and reportedly reach 345 million people worldwide in 59 languages. The global media agency was created to counter disinformation spread by oppressive regimes abroad. The USAGM website states that its mission is “to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy.” The editorial objective of this government-funded media was developed during the Cold War and is supposed to support the national strategic objectives of the United States. It was specifically created to provide people in communist nations, via outlets such as Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe, with information about the free world that is prohibited by their totalitarian rulers.

It makes no sense for American taxpayers to fund anti-U.S. propaganda that gets broadcast and published worldwide. That apparently is what has been occurring for many years at USAGM, which has a workforce of around 3,500 and an $886 million budget in 2024. The agency requested a substantial budget increase of $950 million for fiscal year 2025. In its Congressional Budget Justification, USAGM touts its Diversity and Inclusion Initiative with the appointment of an inaugural Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) who will collaborate closely with the Office of Civil Rights to align Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) training with a focus on crucial conversations, cultural diversity, and inclusivity. In the document, the agency assures that the new diversity chief will implement greater visibility and awareness of USAGM’s DEIA initiatives, identify new opportunities for DEIA initiatives agency-wide, and advance equity for underserved communities.

Since Trump ordered USAGM’s shutdown, the administration official charged with the job, senior adviser Kari Lake, has found a multitude of problems, including massive national security violations in which spies and terrorist sympathizers infiltrated the agency, eye-popping self-dealing involving contracts, hundreds of millions of dollars spent on fake news companies, and obscene overspending on building leases with no broadcasting facilities. Lake’s team even uncovered a $9 million commission to a private real estate agency with connections. “Waste, fraud and abuse run rampant in this agency and American taxpayers shouldn’t have to fund it,” said Lake, a former television news broadcaster. She has determined that, from top to bottom, the USAGM is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer as well as a national security risk. It is not salvageable, and Lake’s team will clean it up so it can meet the “core mission of telling America’s story throughout the world in a meaningful, impactful and effective way.”

Liberals have long been in charge at USAGM, and the previously mentioned Soros broadcast is just one of many examples. The Spanish-language segment, which focused on the Hungarian philanthropist’s efforts to cripple sovereign governments in Latin America, aired on Television Martí (which operates under OCB) and was available for months online before a scandal-plagued Democratic senator discovered it and demanded an investigation. The disgraced veteran lawmaker, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery, extortion and conspiracy. At his request, Obama’s USAGM chief, John F. Lansing, fired eight reporters and editors involved in the Soros broadcast. Judicial Watch was cited as a source because it investigated State Department funding of Soros groups in Colombia and published a report on Soros’ initiatives to advance a radical globalist agenda in Guatemala.

Until next week,