All articles tagged with #voter data
Trump claimed China had access to hundreds of millions of voter registration records; the article clarifies that much of this data is already publicly available through state voter rolls and commercial vendors (often for a fee), with varying privacy rules, and explains what is actually accessible versus restricted.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration will suspend enforcement of the new consumer data law amid defects, delaying penalties and registration until the legislature fixes issues. The state Office of Consumer Protection will not require data brokers to register until a 2027 registry is ready and will issue guidance on the law’s scope. The measure, which bans selling or licensing “sensitive data” and precise geolocation data, could impact how political campaigns access voter-targeting data, and lawmakers and campaign staff were informed that the voter database will continue uninterrupted for now as fixes are pursued.
The Trump-era Justice Department sent letters to Utah and other states warning chief election officials they could face criminal penalties if noncitizens vote, as it seeks complete, unredacted voter lists. Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson calls the move bizarre and unlawful, while a state audit found 99.72% of 2,069,640 voter records are U.S. citizens. Federal lawsuits seeking broad voter data have faced repeated court defeats, and Utah’s case remains unresolved with no hearing yet scheduled.
New Jersey’s sweeping data-law, signed June 30, could bar campaigns from selling or using voter data, imposing up to $1.5 million yearly fees and up to $50,000 per record in penalties, with no explicit political carve-out; the ambiguity and rapid effective dates create immediate uncertainty and risk of a data-driven campaign disruption as regulators prepare rules, potentially affecting races such as the NJ-7 contest.
The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter to Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson threatening criminal prosecution over how the state administers elections and demanding private voter information. Henderson called the DOJ’s behavior “truly bizarre” as she resists sharing sensitive data; the dispute follows DOJ lawsuits seeking voter rolls and Utah’s ongoing legal pushback. Utah audits have found only a small handful of noncitizens on its voter rolls, and the state recently passed citizenship-proof voting requirements to tighten who can vote.
The Postal Service proposes rules that would condition the delivery of mail ballots on states providing voter data lists to the federal government and building citizenship lists through DHS, as directed by a Trump executive order. If states don’t comply, USPS could refuse to deliver their ballots, a move that has prompted lawsuits from 23 Democratic-led states and DC who argue it oversteps federal authority and risks voter disenfranchisement. The administration defends the plan as enforcing election integrity, while critics say it amounts to a data grab and may be unworkable amid funding and logistical hurdles. The case is unfolding in court as fights over federal involvement in elections continue.
USPS proposed federal rules requiring states to share voter-level data (names, addresses, and per-ballot barcodes) for mail-in/absentee ballots in federal elections, to track ballots and create a state-by-state participation list via a new Federal Ballot Mail Portal; the rules would apply to federal elections (not primaries or overseas ballots) and follow President Trump's March executive order, with the Federal Register publication slated for June 2 and a 30-day public comment period; a judge previously declined to block the order’s mail-voting provisions while the process continues.
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's bid under Title III of the Civil Rights Act to obtain Arizona's statewide voter registration list (SVRL), ruling the law does not authorize demanding the SVRL; Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes and AG Kris Mayes praised the decision as a privacy victory, and the ruling marks the DOJ's sixth loss in state-voter data lawsuits.
A federal judge in Phoenix dismissed the Justice Department’s bid to obtain Arizona’s detailed voter rolls, ruling that the statewide registration list isn’t subject to a federal data request and dismissing the suit with prejudice. The ruling adds to a string of similar rejections for the DOJ as advocates cite privacy concerns while noting the data’s alleged use to enforce federal election laws; several states have already provided or promised lists, signaling a contentious, ongoing battle over voter information.
A federal judge blocked the Department of Justice's attempt to obtain Rhode Island voter data, delaying the DOJ's lawsuit as the legal challenge proceeds.
North Carolina's Republican-majority State Board of Elections approved rules to compare voter registrations with the DHS SAVE database to flag possible noncitizens, in a 3–2 vote that critics say could wrongly purge eligible voters; the move is part of a broader GOP push for data-driven verification, following other actions like mismatched IDs, a Registration Repair Project, and expanded data requests from the DMV.
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department's December lawsuit seeking Massachusetts voter-registration data, ruling the DOJ did not adequately demonstrate a legal right to obtain sensitive information such as drivers' license numbers, addresses, and partial SSNs. The decision further constrains the Trump administration's efforts to collect state voter-roll data, a pattern seen across the country as DOJ sought data from at least 48 states and DC.
The Justice Department is pressing states for nonpublic voter-registration data to help clean the rolls, but several Republican-led offices push back on privacy and sovereignty grounds, with some providing data but resisting a stringent 45-day removal deadline; concerns about the data's use and the federal government's role in elections persist amid lawsuits targeting Democratic officials.
The NAACP asked a judge to issue protections to prevent misuse or disclosure of voter information seized by the FBI from Fulton County’s election facilities in Georgia, arguing that sensitive data must be safeguarded during ongoing investigations.
Trump’s push to have the federal government oversee elections has alarmed state election officials who run voting nationwide, highlighting a frayed federal‑state partnership as DOJ/FBI actions, data requests, and executive-order proposals raise concerns about federal overreach and the future of election administration, with some Republicans backing the administration and others defending state control.