The S.C. Election Commission can turn over its voter database to the U.S. Department of Justice after the state Supreme Court on Thursday tossed a lower court injunction blocking the transfer.
In the unanimous ruling, the justices found that S.C. Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein’s Sept. 2 order “falls far short” of establishing that the South Carolina resident who sued to stop the transfer would suffer “immediate and irreparable damage” if election officials surrendered the information.
The Justice Department has said it needs state voter data to ensure federal election security, though critics note that widespread voter fraud has never been found in a modern American election.
With the injunction lifted and the case ready to proceed on the merits, Gov. Henry McMaster’s office lauded the Supreme Court’s ruling in a comment to the S.C. Daily Gazette.
“Gov. McMaster has said all along that this case was improper,” spokesman Brandon Charochak said in a statement. “Today’s ruling is a major victory for South Carolina.”
In court filings, attorneys for the governor argued that turning over the data wouldn’t cause harm to South Carolinians since the federal government already has virtually all the information in one place or another, though privacy advocates noted that some of that data is shielded from Justice Department access.
Despite the high court’s decision, attorney and Democratic state Sen. Brad Hutto, who’s leading the charge to stop the data release, told The Post and Courier that he doesn’t expect any immediate action.
“I think it’s highly unlikely the Election Commission is going to hit the ‘send’ button today, before we’ve had a hearing,” he said.
According to reports, the state Supreme Court will decide whether to take the case or allow it to continue moving through the lower courts on Sept. 21.
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