DOJ Efforts to Seize Voter Data

DOJ Efforts to Seize Voter Data ‘Pose Serious Risks’ to Privacy and National Security, Senators Warn

The Trump administration’s effort to gather private voter data from every state poses serious national security risks and raises privacy concerns, a pair of Democratic senators wrote in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi Thursday.

Since at least May, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been demanding that states hand over their voter rolls — including the sensitive personal information of every individual voter. But numerous states have refused the department’s demands — citing privacy concerns and claiming DOJ doesn’t have a legal right to the information.

DOJ has sued eight states to obtain access to their voter rolls. In a letter citing reporting from Democracy Docket and other media outlets, Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said they “strongly oppose” DOJ’s legal efforts to strongarm states to hand over their private voter data.

“We are especially concerned that these actions pose serious risks to voter privacy and national security, and we stand with election officials who are ready to fight back against misuse of the data in calls for baseless purges or meritless challenges to election results,” the senators wrote.

The letter argues DOJ lacks legal authority to demand access to state voter rolls, and raises concerns that the department may be violating the Privacy Act in its efforts to obtain voter data.

https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/doj-efforts-to-seize-voter-data-pose-serious-risks-to-privacy-and-national-security-senators-warn/