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, Delaware’s voter data has also become the latest target in a fight between state and federal officials.
The Trump administration sued Delaware in federal court Tuesday in an attempt to compel state officials to turn over detailed voter data information.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, is an escalation of months of warring letters between the U.S. Department of Justice’s Voting Rights Division and the Delaware Department of Elections over whether and how much of the information to share.
But Delaware is not alone, as the Justice Department also sued five other Democratic-led states on Tuesday with similar demands. They added to eight states – also led by Democratic governors – that were sued earlier this year after also defying the federal government.
In announcing the lawsuit against Delaware, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, “Accurate voter rolls are the cornerstone of fair and free elections, and too many states have fallen into a pattern of noncompliance with basic voter roll maintenance. The Department of Justice will continue filing proactive election integrity litigation until states comply with basic election safeguards.”
Delaware Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence declined to comment on the case, citing the active litigation.
What has been requested?
While federal officials have argued that access to state voting records across the country is necessary to secure future elections, state officials from both parties have rebuffed the demands as an unconstitutional incursion into state operations.
Delaware officials were first contacted in early July with a letter from DOJ leaders 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 a September letter.
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.
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 push for the proof of citizenship for voter registration, among other measures.
Due to that order, the Justice Department is also now building a list of all state and local officials who handle election records and reviewing how states ensure 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.
What is the concern?
Andrew Bernstein, who leads voting rights work at the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware, told Spotlight Delaware that the concern around the data request is that the Trump administration may be trying to undermine future election integrity.
“It’s known that the current administration has had doubts about the integrity of elections for the entirety of the time that Trump been a political figure, and it appears that he might try to sow doubt and confusion [in our elections] and lay claims of fraud where there is not currently any real evidence of that,” he said. “It also looks like a potential for the federal government to open the door to wrongful purges of eligible voters as well.”
The Justice Department has not explained exactly why they are requesting far more detailed voter data than ever before. A letter from 10 state election leaders requesting an answer to that question was not responded to by the Trump administration.
The appointment of prominent 2020 election deniers like Heather Honey, the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity at the Department of Homeland Security, who is involved with the data effort, has only raised more concerns for state officials.
Those open questions raise concerns around the protection of such data, Bernstein said, noting that a lack of protections around sensitive info has been a troubling trend with the Trump administration.
“We are concerned, even outside of the voting context, of other harms that could befall people if this kind of sensitive information were to end up being misplaced by the federal government,” Bernstein said.
Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, accessed sensitive data on federal payments, workers and overseas contacts without necessary protections, according to experts. Information on an impending military strike in Yemen was also inadvertently sent to a reporter in the Signal scandal. A hacker also compromised former National Security Advisor Make Waltz’s apps to download info on dozens of government officials, according to Reuters.
