The Democratic National Committee has fired off letters to officials in Texas and nine other states urging them to reject a Justice Department request to hand over their unredacted voter files.
The DNC warned states that the proposed agreement with the White House, which requires state officials remove any alleged ineligible voters found during a federal review, would break a variety of federal election laws.
Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s office last week confirmed it had turned over the state’s rolls, which include data on 18.4 million registered voters, to the Trump administration on Dec. 23. The records include Texas voters’ dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, state officials said.
The DNC letter, signed by Litigation Director Daniel L. Freeman, gives the Texas Secretary of State’s Office 30 days to produce paperwork showing what communication it’s had with the Justice Department about the voter rolls. Freeman writes that his staff wants to ensure Texas isn’t violating any laws, but asserts that the committee is ready to pursue legal action should violations come to light.
“The DNC won’t stand idly by as the Trump DOJ tries to get access to voters’ sensitive information and put eligible voters at risk of being wrongfully purged from voter rolls,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in an emailed statement.
The DNC sent similar letters to elections officials in Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Utah.
So far, the Trump administration has a dismal court record for defending efforts to suppress the vote and make false claims that Joe Biden’s election as president was fraudulent.
Last fall, a federal court permanently blocked part of an executive order Trump issued six months earlier that would have required voters show a passport or similar proof of citizenship. The court ruled the measure would disproportionately harm people of color.
Further, courts swatted down virtually every legal action attempt Trump and his allies took to overturn the 2020 election.
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