DOJ Demands Minnesota Voter Registration Records in Attack on Same-Day Registration

The Trump DOJ, through Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon, sent a letter to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon demanding voter registration records within 15 days. The DOJ is specifically targeting Minnesota’s same-day registration and “vouching” system, where voters can prove residence by having another registered voter vouch for them.

The DOJ seeks access to sensitive personal information including full names, dates of birth, addresses, and partial Social Security and driver’s license numbers for the previous 22 months. Civil rights groups filed a motion to intervene, warning that DOJ intends to share the data with the Department of Homeland Security for criminal and immigration investigations. As of January 2, the DOJ has sued 22 jurisdictions seeking voter registration data to create what opponents call “an unprecedented and unauthorized national voter database.”