Minnesota rejects DOJ demand for state’s voter rolls

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office has told the U.S. Justice Department that it will not comply with a request to share the state’s voter registration list.

The Justice Department asked Minnesota election officials in June for voter rolls and other information to show proof of compliance with federal election law. Similar requests were made to other states, including Colorado, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

In a letter sent Friday, Justin Erickson, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office, said the Justice Department did not “identify any legal basis” for its request, nor did it explain how the data would be “used, stored and secured.”

The Secretary of State’s Office, “will require clear legal justification for the data and sufficient information to show that the data will be protected and used properly before it can consider whether it is appropriate to share Minnesota’s voter registration list,” Erickson wrote.

The Justice Department’s letter does not explicitly say why the government wanted the data. The department did not respond to requests for comment from the Minnesota Star Tribune.

The Associated Press has reported that the Justice Department’s election division under President Donald Trump has shifted away from its traditional role of protecting access to voting. Now, the AP reported, it has turned to addressing election integrity concerns held by conservative activists, concerns that are often based on false claims of voter fraud.

An independent elections expert, who served as a lawyer in the division under Republicans and Democrats, told the Star Tribune in June that no federal law requires states to provide the federal government with voter registration lists.

Erickson’s eight-page letter provides answers to other questions posed by the Justice Department, concluding that Minnesota’s voter registration systems meet or exceed federal standards and are “one of the most secure and accurate ... in the country.”

“Public trust in this system is exceedingly high, as evidenced by the fact that Minnesota routinely leads the nation in voter turnout,” he wrote.

Erickson also said investigations and prosecutions related to election misconduct reported by county attorneys are “exceedingly small” and nearly all perpetrators are caught before they can vote.