November 19, 2025 11:00 AM UTC

Hey, Leave Our Voter Data Alone

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• by: Colorado Pols

As The Associated Press reports, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold is among 10 others across the country asking the Department of Justice, “WTF?”

Ten Democratic secretaries of state, including Colorado’s Jena Griswold, asked the Trump administration Tuesday to provide more information about its wide-ranging efforts to seek statewide voter registration lists, citing concerns that federal agencies have apparently misled them and might be entering the data in a program used to verify U.S. citizenship.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the secretaries of state expressed “immense concern” over reports that the Justice Department has shared voter data from states with the Department of Homeland Security.

“Given the unprecedented nature and scope of the DOJ’s requests, we require additional information about how this information will be used, shared, and secured,” they wrote.

In response to a request for comment, the Justice Department shared a previous statement from Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls and basic election safeguards are requisites for free, fair, and transparent elections,” she stated. “The DOJ Civil Rights Division has a statutory mandate to enforce our federal voting rights laws, and ensuring the voting public’s confidence in the integrity of our elections is a top priority of this administration.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

So, in other words: Crickets.

The Department of Justice has asked at least 26 states for voter registration lists, and has sued eight states for said lists, seeking personally identifiable information, including voter names, birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers or partial Social Security numbers.

And WHY do they want that data? That depends on who you ask…and when you pose the question:

During an August meeting, a Justice Department official said the agency intended to use the voter information to make sure states were maintaining their voter lists in compliance with two federal voting laws.

But the following month, according to the letter, the Department of Homeland Security said it had received voter data and would enter it into a federal program used to verify citizenship status. That was despite a Homeland Security official telling secretaries of state during a September meeting that the department had not received voter data or requested it, the letter said.

Does the Department of Homeland Security want this data for immigration enforcement? Is DHS Secretary Kristi Noem selling the information to the Home Shopping Network? Does the Home Shopping Network still exist?

As with everything concerning the Trump administration, there are many more questions than answers.

You can read the full letter from the 10 Secretaries of State HERE.