DOJ sues Minnesota for full voter rolls
The Department of Justice has sued Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, demanding the state's voter registration records as part of a coordinated set of lawsuits against six states within a broader push that included data requests to about 40 states. Ten Democratic secretaries of state, including Simon, have asked DOJ and DHS for details and security assurances after learning DOJ shared state rolls with DHS to run citizenship checks through the SAVE system despite earlier assurances the data would be used only to assess HAVA/NVRA compliance and amid contradictory statements from federal officials.
📌 Key Facts
- The Justice Department filed coordinated lawsuits against six states, including Minnesota, as part of a broader multi-state action over refusals to share voter data.
- The DOJ has issued voter-data requests to at least 40 states; some states, including Colorado, provided copies of their master voter lists in response to sweeping DOJ requests.
- On Nov. 18, ten Democratic secretaries of state — including Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon — sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem asking whether DOJ and DHS misled states about uses of shared voter data.
- The letter alleges DOJ shared state voter rolls with DHS so DHS could run citizenship checks through the SAVE system after DOJ had said the data would be used only to assess compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
- The secretaries cite two meetings with senior DOJ and DHS officials on Aug. 28 and Sept. 11 and say DHS election-integrity official Heather Honey told them DHS had not requested the data — a statement DHS publicly contradicted the same day.
- The officials requested details on interagency data sharing, security safeguards and the contradictory statements, and asked for a response by Dec. 1.
📰 Sources (3)
State election officials in letter ask if they were ‘misled’ by Trump administration
New information:
- Ten Democratic secretaries of state — including Minnesota’s Steve Simon — sent a Nov. 18 letter to AG Pam Bondi and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem questioning whether DOJ/DHS misled states about uses of voter data.
- The letter says DOJ shared state voter rolls with DHS to run citizenship checks through the SAVE system after previously saying data would be used only to assess HAVA/NVRA compliance.
- Secretaries cite two meetings with senior DOJ/DHS officials (Aug. 28 and Sept. 11); they say DHS election-integrity official Heather Honey told them DHS had not requested the data, which DHS publicly contradicted the same day.
- Officials request details on interagency data sharing, security safeguards, and contradictory statements, with a response requested by Dec. 1.
- Context: DOJ has issued voter data requests to at least 40 states; Colorado provided copies of its master voter list in response to a sweeping DOJ request.
DOJ files suit against six states that refused to share voter data
New information:
- The DOJ filed coordinated lawsuits against six states in total, indicating Minnesota is part of a broader multi-state action.
- Frames Minnesota’s case as one of several parallel suits over voter data disclosure refusals.