Why Should Delaware Care?
Voter data, like much of the government’s data, contains personal identifying information that can lead to identity theft. In a state that has resisted attempts to assist federal immigration enforcement, voter data has also become the latest target in a fight between state and federal officials.
Over the last two months, Delaware election officials have been quietly resisting efforts by the Trump administration to obtain sensitive voter data, citing concerns over how it might be protected or misused.
The requests are part of a nationwide initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division that plans to compare voter data to a separate database, maintained by the Department of Homeland Security, in order to see whether registered voters on state lists match up with non-citizens listed by immigration agents, according to reporting by the New York Times.
The Delaware Department of Elections was first contacted in early July with a letter from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Gates, who leads the Civil Rights Division, and Maureen Riordan, acting chief of the division’s voting rights efforts.
They are seeking voter data that contains not only names, birth dates, addresses, political party affiliations, voting history and legislative district information, but also driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. They also want all information pertaining to non-citizens and convicted felons who have been ruled ineligible to vote since November 2022.
To date, Delaware has only provided data that excludes the more sensitive, non-public information.
“Absent appropriate protections, Delawareans’ information could be compromised or misused, or Delawareans could be deterred from exercising their First Amendment rights to register to vote, to affiliate with a party, and to vote,” Delaware Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence wrote in the latest letter sent to DOJ officials on Tuesday.
His office has detailed denials for the more sensitive information made by federal officials who cited the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002. Albence also cites Delaware state law that protects private information as an impediment to the federal government’s wishes, noting that he is prohibited from sharing it even within the state government.
On Wednesday, a U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson told Spotlight Delaware that “enforcing the nation’s elections laws is a priority in this administration and in the Civil Rights Division,” and that the obtained data “is being screened for ineligible voter entries.”
DOJ reviews records for voter fraud
The inspection of voting records comes amid the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s continued insistence that the 2020 election was stolen from him due to widespread voter fraud and a deportation effort that has been put into overdrive in his second term.
In March, Trump signed an executive order that directed the federal government to review election records and integrity, prioritize prosecution of election-related crimes, and to push for the proof of citizenship for voter registration, among other measures.
Due to that order, the Justice Department is now also building a list of all state and local officials who handle election records and reviewing how states ensure that their voter registration records are accurate.
In its initial July 11 letter, the DOJ questioned certain federal survey findings from the 2024 election. Those included why Delaware’s voter registration rate was so high at 96% of voting-age adults; why its duplicate registration records were so low; and why so many confirmations of voter information were returned as invalid.
In response, Albence noted that high registration and low duplication rates were something of which to be proud rather than suspicious. Delaware achieved those levels principally through its voter registration system, which automatically registers a voter when they apply for a driver’s license, Albence said in his response. The elections department also examines voter records monthly to cross reference them with recorded deaths, he said.
In terms of an abnormally high number of invalid registration checks, Albence explained that was due to how Delaware defined an invalid record. When a voter verifies a change in address, it also results in an invalid record for the existing address. Other states define the entries differently, which results in Delaware looking comparatively more problematic.
“Thus, Delaware’s high rate of cancellations based upon invalid registrations reflects the Department’s success in convincing voters to update their information in response to confirmation notices,” Albence wrote.
Delaware isn’t alone
The First State is joined by more than two dozen other states in rebuffing the federal government’s attempts to obtain voter data, according to the New York Times.
The Justice Department has requested data from at least 16 Republican-controlled states, including Mississippi, Alabama and Texas, the Times reported. It has also sent more formal demands for data to at least 17 mostly Democrat-controlled or swing states, including Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin and New York.
Nearly every state has resisted turning over voter files with private, personally identifiable information. Some local courts have also intervened, such as one South Carolina judge who blocked disclosure there.
The request for voting records also comes as the Trump administration has expanded its search for records that can help identify undocumented immigrants. The U.S. Department of Justice is currently fighting the state government in federal court over access to state Department of Labor records that may reveal immigration info.
State legislators have also feared that federal officials may try to use Division of Motor Vehicle or Department of Education records to identify undocumented immigrants.
The Delaware Voting Rights Coalition, a group made up of more than 35 state advocacy organizations, applauded the Delaware Department of Elections’ denial of records and called for it to continue to push back against the federal government’s “unprecedented and unfounded” requests.
“What we’re witnessing is deeply troubling: the Trump administration is weaponizing the immense power of the federal government to cast doubt on the integrity of our elections and target historically marginalized voters,” the coalition said in a Thursday morning statement. “This is bigger than political disagreement …The freedom to cast our ballots safely and securely without fear of government retribution due to who we are or how we vote is a vital part of any well-functioning democracy. “