DETROIT — A judge has ordered Michigan election officials to stop automatically canceling a voter's registration if the card is returned as undeliverable.

Federal Judge Stephen Murphy in Detroit ruled Monday in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and a group representing college students.

More than 1,400 voters in that category have been disqualified so far in 2008.

The judge says it's unclear how many cancellations actually are wrong but it's a violation of federal law. Murphy said state officials must restore the names of 1,438 people who have been removed from the rolls under this method since Jan. 1.

Murphy says those people shouldn't be prevented from voting if they can produce more proof of residency at the polls.

Murphy said a second practice — removing the names of people who apply for drivers' licenses in other states — also is illegal because it doesn't comply with federal law. He concluded, however, that precious few people have been shown to be harmed by this practice, and so declined to impose an immediate halt to that method.