The DOJ Misled a Judge About How It’s Using Voter Roll Data

Last week in Rhode Island, successful a proceeding implicit the Trump administration’s efforts to entree the state’s unredacted elector lists, US territory justice Mary McElroy asked a Department of Justice lawyer what the bureau had been doing with the elector rotation information it already amassed from different states successful caller months.

“We person not done thing yet,” said Eric Neff, the acting main of the agency’s voting section, a halfway portion of the DOJ’s civilian rights part that focuses connected enforcing national laws that support the close to vote. Neff added that the information the DOJ collected from states—which tin see Social Security numbers, drivers licenses, dates of birth, and addresses—was being kept separate.

“The United States is taking other interest to marque definite that we’re complying with the Privacy Act successful each conceivable way,” Neff added. The Privacy Act of 1974 regulates however authorities agencies cod and usage personally identifiable accusation astir US residents.

But Neff was not telling the truth: The DOJ, helium aboriginal admitted, was pooling the information and already analyzing it to place voting irregularities.

In a tribunal papers filed connected March 27, Neff walked backmost his claims. “The United States represented that each information acceptable was stored separately,” Neff wrote. “The United States besides stated that nary investigation had yet been conducted connected the data. To close and clarify the record, preliminary interior information investigation of the nonpublic elector registration information has begun. In particular, the Civil Rights Division has begun the process of identifying and quantifying the fig and benignant of duplicate and deceased registered voters successful each state.”

The revelation confirms what was wide speculated, which is that the DOJ appears to beryllium pooling the information and utilizing it to place imaginable issues with suspected voting irregularities up of the midterms, which is simply a halfway portion of Trump’s wide onslaught connected elections.

Neff and the DOJ did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Critics person grown progressively acrophobic astir the DOJ’s voting section, which has undergone a stark translation since President Donald Trump has retaken office. A recently installed coterie of inexperienced but ultra-loyal lawyers successful the DOJ’s voting section, galore of whom person supported predetermination denial conspiracy theories, person spent their clip connected forcing states to manus implicit their elector rotation information.

The inaugural began successful May past year, erstwhile the Department of Justice sent letters to predetermination officials successful astatine slightest 48 states and Washington, DC, asking for unredacted elector rolls. Some Republican-led states instantly handed implicit the information, but dozens of others pushed back. As a result, Neff and his colleagues person sued 30 states, asking courts to unit them to manus implicit the information. So far, courts person sided with the states, with judges already dismissing cases successful California, Michigan, and Oregon.

In galore of the lawsuits, authorities predetermination officials pointed retired the immense information hazard progressive successful sharing specified delicate data, particularly erstwhile it was unclear however the information would beryllium stored oregon who it would beryllium shared with. “We inactive person nary thought what the authorities is doing with this data,” says David Becker, the caput of the Center for Election Innovation and Research and a erstwhile Justice Department lawyer. “No thought wherever it is being stored, however it is being protected, oregon who has entree to it. This information is incredibly sensitive. If idiosyncratic has immoderate of these 3 information points connected immoderate of us, Social Security number, driver's licence number, oregon day of birth, they tin wreck america financially. This is wherefore the states support this data, and they bash a bully occupation of it.”