Published 23.26
A federal judge has ordered a halt to a database containing information on millions of Americans that was supposed to be used in elections.
The decision is a significant setback for President Donald Trump.
The database must contain information such as the equivalent of social security numbers, citizenship status and other sensitive information, The Hill reports.
The Trump administration’s plan is for this database to be used as a tool to be able to identify and compile lists of people deemed eligible to vote.
But according to Judge Sparkle L Sooknanan, the initiative, which was issued by presidential order earlier this year, violates several laws and risks wrongfully disenfranchising people.
Trump has previously described his attempt at new laws as so important that it “overshadows everything else”.
