ALBANY, NY- Today, the League of Women Voters of New York State, represented by Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law (Brennan Center), filed a motion to intervene as a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to obtain the complete list of all registered voters in New York without proper basis and purpose. The DOJ is attempting to obtain voters’ sensitive data, including private information such as driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers, data beyond what’s typically publicly available.
“New Yorkers take pride in our state’s long commitment to fair and transparent elections,” said Erica Smitka, executive director of the League of Women Voters of New York State. “The Department of Justice’s attempt to collect sensitive voter data without cause undermines that trust and puts every voter’s personal information at risk. The League of Women Voters of New York is proud to stand up for voters, to protect their privacy and trust in the democratic process.”
In July, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) sent a letter to Board of Elections of New York State requesting the state’s complete and unredacted voter file, including voters’ addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers. The Board of Elections (BOE) of New York State released the public version of the voter registration list, but declined to turn over the unredacted voter files, citing state election laws, public disclosure laws, and federal privacy protections. In response, the DOJ filed a lawsuit in September against the Board of Elections of New York State, alleging that the failure to turn over the data violates the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act, and Section 303 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The DOJ has also sued six other states in their attempt to create a national voter roll.
“The Department of Justice should be protecting voters, not putting their personal information at risk,” said Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States. “There is no justification for the federal government to demand access to sensitive voter data under the guise of election security. These actions erode public trust and undermine democracy. The League will always work to protect voters’ privacy and ensure every American can cast their ballot free from intimidation or misuse of their data.”
The DOJ has a responsibility to protect the freedom to vote, but its recent actions would infringe upon these freedoms. The DOJ’s improper overreach into state data at the behest of the Trump administration would not make our elections any safer or more secure. It could instead jeopardize voters’ personal information and discourage them from participating in the democratic process.
As recent reporting shows, this threat to voters is compounded by the potential for this requested information to be misused by other agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement. Our elections already have numerous safeguards in place to make sure only US citizens participate, a responsibility that election officials take seriously.
“This overreach by the federal government is an attempt to seize personal information and take control over our elections when the Constitution gives the power to regulate and administer elections to the states or Congress,” said Brent Ferguson, director of strategic litigation at Campaign Legal Center. “Voters should have confidence that their information is secure. Attempts by the DOJ to retrieve sensitive voter data are an attack on Americans’ privacy and freedoms, including the freedom to vote.”
“The DOJ’s demands for the voter files are one element of the Trump administration’s concerted effort to undermine American elections,” said Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice. “If its requests succeed, the department could amass a federal database of personal information about every registered voter in the country. The government could misuse this data to concoct more false claims about election fraud, target political opponents, or try to force states to remove voters from the rolls.”
Our democracy is strongest when every eligible voter can exercise their freedom to vote, and the League of Women Voters of New York State, Campaign Legal Center and the Brennan Center intend to work together to protect that freedom.