by Jonathan Shorman, Stateline, Pennsylvania Capital-Star
U.S. Department of Justice officials say the department will seek voting and election information from all 50 states, according to a national group that includes many top state election officials.
A Pennsylvania vote-by-mail ballot envelope (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall)
The department has sent letters to Pennsylvania and at least eight other states in recent months asking for information related to voter list maintenance in the states under the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.
Several letters also request state voter registration lists, prompting concern among some Democrats and voting rights activists about how the department, under the control of President Donald Trump, plans to use the data.
The National Association of Secretaries of State, known as NASS, said that after states began receiving letters, its staff reached out to the department for additional information and context.
“DOJ staff told NASS staff that all states would be contacted eventually on NVRA and HAVA matters. We passed along this information to members,” assocation spokesperson Maria Benson wrote in a statement to Stateline, using the acronyms for the two voting registration acts.
The Department of Justice has declined to answer questions from Stateline about its plans for the voter registration data.
Some states have declined to hand over their full voter registration records, which can contain sensitive personal information, including partial Social Security numbers.
Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have all declined to release full lists. In Maine, Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows plans to deny a similar request, telling the Maine Morning Star that the DOJ can “go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”
The department’s focus on elections comes after 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.
Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org.
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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.
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