Ten Democratic Secretaries of State Demand Answers Over DOJ Requests for Voter Files

Ten Democratic secretaries of state have formally asked federal officials to explain wide-ranging requests for statewide voter registration lists, raising concerns that the data may have been shared with other agencies and entered into a citizenship-verification system.

The officials sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem expressing “immense concern” about reporting that the Justice Department has shared state voter information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They asked for detailed information about how the data will be used, who will have access, and what security protections will be in place.

“Clean voter rolls and basic election safeguards are requisites for free, fair, and transparent elections,” the Justice Department said in a statement attributed to Harmeet Dhillon, who commented on the Civil Rights Division’s priorities. “The DOJ Civil Rights Division has a statutory mandate to enforce our federal voting rights laws, and ensuring the voting public’s confidence in the integrity of our elections is a top priority of this administration.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Why the secretaries are worried

The dispute stems from recent DOJ requests for detailed voter files from dozens of states. According to the secretaries, the Justice Department has asked at least 26 states for voter registration lists and has sued eight states that did not comply. Voting-rights organizations have also filed suits, arguing that changes to a federal citizenship-verification tool could lead to improper removals from voter rolls.

Some states have sent redacted, publicly available lists; others have refused to provide records, citing state law or concerns the Justice Department did not meet federal Privacy Act obligations. Nevertheless, the DOJ has at times expressly sought personally identifiable information, including names, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers.

Contradictory statements and the SAVE system

In their letter, the 10 secretaries say federal officials provided “misleading and at times contradictory information” during two meetings organized by the National Association of Secretaries of State. An August meeting reportedly included DOJ officials saying the data would be used to check compliance with federal voting laws. A later statement from DHS indicated it had received voter data and planned to enter it into a program used to verify citizenship status — despite earlier DHS comments denying receipt or requests for such data.

The program cited is SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements), run by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within DHS. SAVE has long been used by agencies to verify citizenship for public-benefits applicants by querying federal databases. Public announcements say SAVE was updated earlier this year to allow election officials to use it at no cost, enable bulk queries, and accept searches using names, birth dates and Social Security numbers rather than only DHS-issued identification numbers.

What the letter asks

The secretaries want clear answers on whether DOJ has shared or intends to share state voter files with DHS or other federal agencies, how any shared data will be used, and what safeguards will prevent misuse. The letter asks DHS to confirm whether it still stands by prior assurances that it would not use voter information, given reports that appear to contradict that claim.

Other questions focus on data confidentiality, security measures, and compliance with federal privacy laws. The letter was signed by the secretaries of state from Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. The group has requested responses from the administration by Dec. 1.