Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger publicly rejected calls from fellow Republicans to turn over sensitive voter records to the Trump administration, responding emphatically last week: "Hell no." In an op-ed and public statements, Raffensperger said he will not release Social Security numbers, dates of birth or driver’s license numbers for every registered Georgia voter.
Raffensperger wrote in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a group of state senators had introduced a resolution demanding his office hand over those identifiers to the U.S. Department of Justice and to unspecified third-party organizations and corporations. He said the resolution diverted attention from pressing state priorities such as affordability, public safety and education.
"Rather than focus on pressing issues like affordability, public safety and education, a group of state senators introduced a resolution demanding the Secretary of State's Office release the Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers of every registered Georgia voter to the U.S. Department of Justice and to unspecified, unnamed third-party organizations and corporations. My response is clear and unequivocal: 'No.' And if I'm speaking in my contractor voice, 'Hell no.'"
Raffensperger also noted that Georgia law prohibits disclosing voters’ birth dates, driver’s license numbers and Social Security numbers, and he pledged not to break the law or release private information to "questionable actors." His office has provided some other voter data in response to federal requests, but he emphasized a boundary for handing over personally identifiable information.
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 11: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks at a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol on November 11, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. At the press conference Raffensperger announced an audit of the Secretary of State race. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)(Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images)
The dispute follows the widely reported 2020 episode in which former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully pressed Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to change Georgia's presidential result — an encounter that helped cast Raffensperger as a check on Trump's efforts. Critics, however, have also pointed out that Raffensperger supported or oversaw policies that opponents call voter suppression, a nuance he acknowledged as part of the political landscape.
Similar fights have played out elsewhere: a federal judge recently denied the Justice Department’s request for voter data from Oregon, and Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows publicly rebuked DOJ efforts there, famously telling Trump and his department to "jump in the Gulf of Maine." Democrats praised those stands as the right way to resist pressure.
Observers caution that handing sensitive voter identifiers to a federal administration whose leaders have voiced extreme skepticism about electoral processes raises legitimate privacy and security concerns. As Raffensperger put it, he will "stay the course" and protect voters' private information.
Source: MS NOW (original reporting cited The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York Times reporting on related developments)
