Over the past few months, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has sent letters and emails to nearly 20 states requesting a slew of sensitive voting data — including access to voter rolls. The unprecedented effort has raised serious concerns among state election officials and voting rights experts — not just because of the legally dubious nature of DOJ’s requests but because of the unknown reasons the department is after the data.
As a result, states have been slow to respond to DOJ’s unusual requests, which extends beyond access to voter rolls to include proof of compliance with federal voting laws and potential information-sharing agreements to share voter registration data.
A central reason for the slow responses is because the federal government’s access to sensitive voter data varies by state — even in states where that data is open to the public. But it’s also not clear that DOJ has a right to access the data in some states, Justin Levitt, a constitutional law scholar and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights division, recently told Democracy Docket.
“Most of the letters are very vague about why the DOJ is asking for this data,” Levitt said. “Most of these letters cite generally [Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)]. That’s not good enough.”
But a few states have responded to DOJ’s requests, either handing over all the information the department requested, part of it, or denied DOJ’s demands altogether. Here are all the states that have responded to DOJ, and what we know about their responses.
Alaska
On August 4, Alaska provided DOJ its most recent voter registration list — which is publicly available to anyone who requests it under state law — along with answers to a variety of DOJ’s questions about the state’s compliance with the NVRA. Alaska also provided DOJ a list of voters determined to be inactive or noncitizens.
Read Alaska’s response here.
Arizona
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) has received two letters from DOJ so far. The first, sent May 2, claimed state officials are not properly verifying voters’ identities, in violation of federal law, and warned of a potential lawsuit. Fontes’ office responded June 2, asserting that all state election officials are complying with federal election laws.
On July 10, DOJ reportedly sent Fontes’ office another letter inquiring about implementation of Trump’s anti-voting executive order. JP Martin, the deputy communications director for Fontes’ office, told Democracy Docket that Fontes’ office is “focused on collaborating with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws.”
Read Arizona’s response to DOJ’s first letter here.
Colorado
After DOJ’s sweeping demand for all 2024 and 2020 election records in Colorado, Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) reportedly provided DOJ with the most current version of its publicly available voter file, along with datasets showing voter history.
Florida
DOJ reportedly asked Florida for access to their voter registration rolls, which are available to the public — the state provided access to the department.
Maine
In response to DOJ’s demand for access to Maine’s voter rolls, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows held a press conference July 29 where she told the DOJ to “go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”
Minnesota
In a July 25 letter to DOJ, Justin Erickson, general counsel for the office of Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon (D), rejected DOJ’s demand for access to the state’s voter rolls.
“The Department of Justice did not … identify any legal basis in its June 25 letter that would entitle it to Minnesota’s voter registration list,” Erickson wrote. “Nor did it explain how this information would be used, stored, and secured.”
Read Minnesota’s response here.
New Hampshire
In a July 25 letter, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan (R) rejected DOJ’s demand to turn over the state’s full statewide voter roll, citing state law and cybersecurity concerns.
“New Hampshire law authorizes the Secretary of State to release the statewide voter registration list in limited circumstances not applicable here,” Scanlan wrote.
Read New Hampshire’s response here.
Wisconsin
On July 2, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe responded to a DOJ letter outlining “several complaints” regarding the state’s compliance with federal voting laws with detailed answers to the department’s questions.
On July 10, prosecutors from DOJ’s criminal division sent an email to Wisconsin Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski (D) requesting sensitive election data to help implement President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-voting executive order. However, Godlewski’s office does not oversee the state’s elections. Nevertheless, Godlewski’s office responded to DOJ’s email.
“Although the Secretary of State does not administer elections in Wisconsin, we responded to the Department of Justice’s inquiry by providing information on the only election-related fraud within our jurisdiction — the falsified 2020 electoral certificate submitted by individuals who were not Wisconsin’s duly appointed electors,” Nicole Pegram, deputy chief of staff for Godlewski’s office, told Democracy Docket.
Read Wisconsin Elections Commission’s response here.