Since May, the Justice Department has sent demands to at least 40 states for copies of their statewide voter registration files, and it has now sued 18 of those states over these demands. The Civil Rights Division is asking for troves of confidential voter information by demanding full copies of states’ computerized voter registration lists, including driver’s 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.
Nearly all states that have replied to the DOJ’s requests have not shared their full voter registration databases. Instead, most states have provided the publicly available version (which do not include Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers) or have not provided the voter registration lists at all. Two states — Indiana and Wyoming — have provided their full statewide voter registration lists.
The Justice Department has sued 18 states — California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawai’i, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington — to force them to provide their full voter registration files. Voters in two other states — Nebraska and South Carolina — have filed cases in state court to prevent election officials from sharing their private voter information with the DOJ.
On November 18, chief election officials from 10 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington — sought clarification from the DOJ and Department of Homeland Security on how the statewide voter registration lists will be used. In September, a DHS official told state election officials that DHS had neither received nor requested any voter data from DOJ. However, the Trump administration released a statement the following day asserting that DOJ was sharing the voter registration data it collects with DHS.
Separate from the requests from the Civil Rights Division for voter files, the DOJ’s Criminal Division has sent emails to chief election officials in at least 13 states since June to request meetings to discuss an “information-sharing agreement.” It is unclear what sort of agreement the department seeks.
In addition, an intermediary who claims to work on behalf of the Trump administration sought access to voting equipment in Colorado, and a DOJ official requested access to voting machines in two counties in Missouri. The requests for access in both states were declined.
The Brennan Center is tracking all of these requests and states’ responses. The map below shows which states have been contacted based on public reporting and public records requests made by the Brennan Center. Summaries of the correspondences are also included.
