UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ____________________________________ ) BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE ) AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY ) SCHOOL OF LAW, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 18-1841 (ABJ) ) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, ) ) Defendant. ) ____________________________________) MEMORANDUM OPINION Plaintiff, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, has sued the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “defendant”) under the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq. Compl. [Dkt. # 1]. Plaintiff requested documents from the DOJ Civil Rights Division in connection with a letter that the Chief of the Voting Section sent to several states seeking information relating to compliance with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act. Id. ¶¶ 8–9. The agency conducted a search and released 407 pages of documents, in full and in part, asserting that FOIA Exemptions 5 and 6 applied to the withheld information. Pl.’s Statement of Undisputed Facts [Dkt. # 24-2] (“Pl.’s SUMF”) ¶¶ 8–10. It also withheld over 20,200 pages under FOIA Exemptions 5, 6, 7(A), and 7(C). Id. ¶ 14. Pending before the Court are the parties’ motions for summary judgment. Def.’s Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. # 21] (“Def.’s Mot.”); Pl.’s Cross-Mot. for Summ. J. [Dkt. # 24] (“Pl.’s Cross- Mot.”); Pl.’s Mem. in Supp. of Pl.’s Cross-Mot. [Dkt. # 24-1] (“Pl.’s Mem.”). Upon review of the parties’ briefs and the full record in the case, the Court will grant in part and deny in part defendant’s motion for summary judgment and grant in part and deny in part plaintiff’s cross- motion for summary judgment. BACKGROUND I. The Request On June 28, 2017, T. Christian Herren, Jr., the Chief of the DOJ Voting Section, sent a letter to all states covered by the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”) (the “Letter”), 52 U.S.C. § 20501 et seq. Pl.’s FOIA Request, Ex. A to Compl. [Dkt. # 1-5] at 1 (“FOIA Request”). The Letter requested information regarding the states’ procedures for compliance with the statewide voter registration list maintenance provisions of the NVRA and the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20901 et seq. Id. Specifically, it asked for each state’s statutes, regulations, and policies relating to voter registration, as well as data regarding confirmation notices, removals from the voter registration list, and active and inactive registered voters. Id. at 2. The Letter stated that the Department of Justice planned to review the states’ procedures in an effort to assess compliance with the laws, and that it planned to analyze the voter registration data reported by each state and provide it to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission as part of its biennial Election Administration and Voting Survey. Id. It called for a response within thirty days. Id. at 2. In a FOIA request dated July 20, 2017, plaintiff sought the following documents from the Civil Rights Division: 1. All documents the Department of Justice (“DOJ” or “Department”) received or receives ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals