Since May, the Justice Department has sent letters or emails to at least 35 states requesting details about voters, election officials, and election administration processes, with 31 states receiving specific requests for statewide voter registration lists. These inquiries from the DOJ’s Civil Rights and Criminal Divisions range from requests to access voter registration lists to questions about states’ list-maintenance procedures, which are steps states take to ensure that voters who become ineligible, such as those who move to another state, are removed from the rolls.
While these kinds of mass requests to states are uncommon, they are not unprecedented. For example, during the first Trump administration, the Civil Rights Division sent letters to all 44 states covered by the National Voter Registration Act asking for information about compliance with a section of that law.
This time, however, the Civil Rights Division is asking for troves of confidential voter information by demanding full copies of states’ computerized voter registration lists, including drivers’ license numbers and partial social security numbers. As we detail in a separate analysis, the collection of this sensitive information by the federal government leads to serious privacy and security concerns and may violate state and federal laws. The DOJ has confirmed that it is sharing the voter registration data it collects with the Department of Homeland Security.
The emails from the DOJ’s Criminal Division to the chief election officials in at least eight states since June are also unusual. These emails request a meeting to discuss an “information-sharing agreement.” It is unclear what sort of agreement the department is seeking.
Additionally, a DOJ official and an intermediary who claims to work on behalf of the administration have sought access to voting equipment in Missouri and Colorado, respectively.
The Brennan Center is tracking these requests from DOJ and the states’ responses. The map below shows which states have been contacted based on public reporting and includes a summary of the correspondence.
