ALBANY — A federal judge on Friday dismissed Rensselaer County Clerk Frank J. Merola's legal challenge to the state's new Green Light Law, a controversial measure that will allow undocumented individuals to obtain driver’s licenses.

Merola had been seeking a preliminary injunction blocking the law, formally known as the Driver’s License Access and Privacy Act, from going into effect on Saturday.

The 17-page decision by U.S. District Senior Judge Gary L. Sharpe did not address the core issues surrounding the law, but determined that Merola lacked "capacity," or the personal right to litigate in federal court. Sharpe specifically knocked down the county clerk's assertion that the Green Light law would oblige him to offer voter registration to undocumented immigrants.

"The DLAPA requires no such conduct by Merola," Sharpe wrote. "This is chiefly so because any prospective non-citizen voter licensed to drive under the DLAPA would have to affirmatively lie about his or her eligibility to vote."

Merola, a Republican, initially filed suit over the law last summer, naming Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James — both Democrats — and the DMV's commissioner as defendants.

The law expressly prohibits local offices of the state Department of Motor Vehicles and county clerks from sharing private information with immigration enforcement agencies about those who apply for licenses. Merola argued that the state law conflicts with federal statutes requiring such disclosure.

Advocates for undocumented immigrants responded that the new law would not fulfill its purpose of providing drivers licenses to members of that group if they faced the risk that applying for one would place them in danger of arrest, detention and deportation.

In a memo of support filed last week with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District, the federal Department of Justice said that the bar on data sharing violates federal law. At the time, Merola called the memo a "game-changer" for his effort.

“The Act’s disclosure restrictions are wide-reaching and appear aimed at frustrating the federal government’s enforcement of the immigration laws,” the 15-page memo stated. It also said that if the court finds that Merola lacks standing or has an otherwise faulty claim, it should not proceed to address the constitutional arguments against the federal data-sharing statutes — an area that Sharpe's decision did not delve into.

Similar legal actions have been taken in other parts of the state. Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns also brought forth a lawsuit challenging the new law, but a federal judge threw out that effort, as well, saying Kearns lacked standing.

In a statement Friday, James called the Green Light law "legal and enforceable, and two separate federal courts have now already dismissed the meritless claims of two county clerks.

"Beginning Monday, the law will help make our roads safer, our economy stronger, and will allow immigrants to come out of the shadows to sign up as legal drivers in our state," James said. "We expect all public officials to comply with the law, and, as the state’s attorney and chief law enforcement officer, I will continue to vigorously defend it.”

In a statement issued Friday evening, Merola said he was disappointed but hoped the decision was "only a setback."

"We will continue to fight to be heard," he said. “This is a matter of conscience for me, and something I do not take lightly. I say this as a citizen whose wife is an immigrant and naturalized citizen of this country. I do appreciate the federal Department of Justice recognizing the state law is unconstitutional and hope other levels of our government work to stop this law being implemented.”