{"id":14632,"date":"2025-07-21T19:42:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T19:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14632"},"modified":"2025-07-23T22:10:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T22:10:33","slug":"trumps-doj-wants-states-to-turn-over-voter-lists-election-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14632","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s DOJ wants states to turn over voter lists, election info"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The sweeping requests raise fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jonathan Shorman<\/strong><\/a><\/em>, Stateline<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states \u2014 representing data on millions of Americans \u2014 and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administration\u2019s attention on state election activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department\u2019s focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states \u2014 and even local authorities \u2014 administer elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trump\u2019s sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful,\u201d Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. \u201cWith that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most letters also ask about each state\u2019s process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying it\u2019s unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that there\u2019s some other purpose,\u201d said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/rhodeislandcurrent.com\/2025\/06\/13\/repub\/trumps-proof-of-citizenship-elections-order-blocked-for-now-in-federal-court\/embed\/#?secret=aIMMYOeB8M#?secret=vAe647kU9V\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data that\u2019s publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but \u201cthat\u2019s not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOJ didn\u2019t respond to questions for this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal laws restrict the federal government\u2019s ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and driver\u2019s licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current \u201cfederal imposition\u201d on election administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including driver\u2019s license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth \u2014 records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweeping Colorado requests<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJ\u2019s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to \u201call records\u201d related to the 2024 election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswold\u2019s office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including driver\u2019s license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth \u2014 records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado \u2026 it\u2019s really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained,\u201d said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Colorado elections have previously drawn Trump\u2019s attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 5 of this year \u2014 a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold \u2014 Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a \u201cpolitical prisoner.\u201d Griswold noted the timing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the \u201926 and \u201928 elections,\u201d Griswold told Stateline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Colorado Secretary of State\u2019s Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the state\u2019s master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who \u201cworks for the White House.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the president\u2019s elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso County\u2019s election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasn\u2019t under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didn\u2019t return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t disclose every single conversation we have with them,\u201d an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, it\u2019s also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerk\u2019s office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the county\u2019s Dominion machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, \u2018No, we\u2019re going to follow the law,\u2019\u201d Crane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/stateline.org\/2024\/06\/07\/new-voter-registration-rules-threaten-hefty-fines-criminal-penalties-for-groups\/embed\/#?secret=jvvSSk9ggN#?secret=2Vcya8tYmE\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government \u201chas been muddied up it seems,\u201d Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then \u201crepresented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trump\u2019s elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task force\u2019s efforts in an advisory role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI said absolutely I will advise,\u201d Guynes said. \u201cI said I\u2019m frankly glad that they\u2019re finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Letters to other states<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 \u2014 after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants provided a driver\u2019s license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws,\u201d Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trump\u2019s elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The email echoes the language in Trump\u2019s elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal \u201celection integrity laws\u201d in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections,\u201d Laragy wrote to Rhode Island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janine Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Shorman covers democracy for Stateline<\/a>, including elections, voting rights, fights over state vs. federal power, civil liberties and more.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sweeping requests raise fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. By Jonathan Shorman, Stateline The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states — representing […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14634,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-14632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-slider"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14632"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14640,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14632\/revisions\/14640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}