The US Justice Department under former President Donald Trump is engaged in an extraordinary and controversial effort to amass sensitive personal information on tens of millions of American voters, a move that has triggered alarm among state officials and election experts who fear it is a prelude to undermining the upcoming midterm elections.
Unprecedented Federal Data Grab
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, the department has made formal requests to election officials in at least 43 states, seeking comprehensive voter registration lists. The demanded data includes highly sensitive details such as the last four digits of social security numbers, full dates of birth, and home addresses.
The push has been met with significant resistance. While eight states have reportedly complied voluntarily, the Justice Department has filed lawsuits against 23 states and the District of Columbia to force them to hand over the information. Notably, nearly every state being sued is led by a Democratic election official.
Many states have refused, citing robust state privacy laws designed to protect citizens. Some, like Minnesota and Arizona, have offered redacted lists only to find themselves sued. Steve Simon, Minnesota's top election official, stated their position is firmly rooted in the law, which they believe protects voters from such disclosure. Arizona's Secretary of State, Adrian Fontes, was more direct, telling the DoJ to "pound sand" in a social media post.
Legal Ambiguity and Potential for Error
The Justice Department has been vague about its precise intentions, stating only a general aim to ensure voter rolls are accurate and free of ineligible voters. However, authority over voter registration rests constitutionally with individual states, not the federal government. The department is invoking laws like the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and, more recently, provisions of the 1960 Civil Rights Act, but critics argue the legal basis is thin.
"The federal government does not have the right to collect information on hundreds of millions of American voters unless Congress has authorized it. It has not," said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research.
Compounding concerns is the revelation that the DoJ is sharing obtained data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS has expanded a database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (Save) system, which can now check citizenship status using the last four digits of a social security number. Experts warn that matching voter rolls with immigration databases is notoriously error-prone, potentially leading to eligible citizens being falsely flagged.
A Pattern of Intimidation and Dubious Results
This effort echoes a failed attempt during Trump's first term to create a voter fraud commission, which was disbanded after bipartisan backlash. The current initiative appears more legally aggressive.
Preliminary data from states that have used the Save system voluntarily shows the scale of potential "fraud" is minuscule. In Texas, screening over 18.2 million registrations flagged 2,724 people, some of whom were later proven to be citizens. Alabama removed 186 names from its rolls of 3.8 million, while Tennessee identified just 42 potential cases.
Furthermore, the DoJ has proposed voluntary agreements with states, requiring them to remove any voters flagged by the department within 45 days. The Democratic National Committee has warned this likely violates the NVRA, which prohibits systematic removals 90 days before a federal election.
With the department refusing to clarify how the data will ultimately be used or to comply with federal transparency requirements under the Privacy Act, critics remain convinced the true goal is political. "This appears to be more focused on amplifying false narratives about problems with our election system," Becker concluded, suggesting it prepares the ground to dispute future election losses.
