A federal judge has permanently dismissed the U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit seeking birth dates, driver's license numbers and partial Social Security numbers for all Utah voters.

U.S. District Judge David Barlow ruled Friday, Oct. 23, that the DOJ had no legal basis to demand Utah's compiled statewide voter registration list. He dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the department cannot refile the claim, Gephardt Daily reported.

The ruling lands 11 days before Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 3, as Millcreek-area voters are already casting ballots by mail.

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Utah's chief election officer, was named as the defendant. She had provided the DOJ with publicly available voter records but refused to hand over protected personal information for the state's roughly 2.1 million registered voters.

"We appreciate Judge Barlow's ruling dismissing the Department of Justice's lawsuit that sought to force us to disclose the private data of every Utah voter," Henderson said in a statement.

The DOJ argued it needed the records to check Utah's compliance with federal voter registration laws. The department cited Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, a provision Congress originally enacted to help investigate racial discrimination that prevented Black Americans from registering and voting.

Barlow rejected that argument. He drew a distinction between records that come into an election official's possession and a list that official compiles from county clerk data. Because Henderson's office builds and maintains the statewide database, Barlow concluded it falls outside the law's scope.

The dispute escalated in September when the DOJ notified Henderson she was under investigation. A Sept. 4 letter warned that failing to preserve election records could expose her to civil and criminal sanctions. Henderson called the move baseless harassment. The department said the letters were standard litigation practice.

Utah's case is the 27th DOJ voter-records lawsuit dismissed at the district court level, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. The department sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., in a nationwide push to obtain unredacted voter rolls. The Salt Lake Tribune reported the DOJ will likely appeal, noting it has challenged most prior losses. The one appellate court to rule so far upheld a district court dismissal.

Gov. Spencer Cox and U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, both Republicans like Henderson, have criticized the federal investigation. Moore said it has "the potential to set a dangerous precedent of overreach to obtain unnecessary private information," the Tribune reported.

Legislative auditors found no signs of significant fraud in a review of Utah's June primary. A separate Utah Valley University study commissioned by the Legislature called the state's elections "highly secure," the Tribune reported.

Two days before the ruling, the DOJ notified Henderson it would send election monitors to Utah for the Nov. 3 election. Henderson told reporters the monitors must comply with state law and cannot interfere with anyone casting a ballot.