The U.S. Department of Justice has asked Nebraska’s top election official to turn over sensitive voter registration data, renewing a request that was rejected by state officials during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The Sept. 8 letter from Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, asked Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen to provide a copy of Nebraska’s statewide voter registration list by Sept. 22.
The department requested the “full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits” of a voter’s Social Security number “to assess your state’s compliance” with the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.
Evnen, Nebraska’s chief election officer, turned the letter over to Attorney General Mike Hilgers for “his review and advice,” according to a spokeswoman.
“We will inform the U.S. Department of Justice that we have done so, and we will communicate with them further after we receive the Nebraska Attorney General’s advice,” Evnen spokeswoman Rani Taborek-Potter said.
Hilgers’ office declined Thursday to provide an update on the attorney general’s review.
Dozens of states have received similar requests in recent weeks. Some states have provided the department with public data. Others, including Minnesota and Maine, turned down the request.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department sued Maine and Oregon for refusing to provide voter registration data.
The request from the Trump administration raised a “red flag” for Civic Nebraska, a nonprofit organization focused on civic engagement and elections, which said turning over voter data to the federal government “carries enormous risks for Nebraskans.”
A public version of Nebraska’s voter file, with the names and addresses of voters, is available for a fee. Registered voters can also ask their phone numbers and email addresses be withheld.
“That balance provides transparency without needless risk,” Civic Nebraska said in an email. “But the DOJ’s demand goes far beyond what state law provides.”
Civic Nebraska said putting all voters’ information into a single repository would be an attractive target for hackers, undermining personal privacy and potentially raising the risk of identity theft.
The Lincoln-based organization also said turning over the data could deter some Nebraskans from registering to vote, and would allow future presidential administrations to demand similar or even broader disclosures.
“Federalism matters here,” Civic Nebraska said. “The states administer elections. While federal law provides guardrails, it is not a blank check to demand unredacted files from every voter in the country.”
The letter from Dhillon disputes that interpretation of the law.
“In charging the Attorney General with enforcement of the voter registration list requirements in the HAVA and in the NVRA, Congress plainly intended that DOJ be able to conduct an independent review of each state’s list,” Dhillon wrote. “Any statewide prohibitions are clearly preempted by federal law.”
The Trump administration made a similar request to then-Secretary of State John Gale in 2017 as his Presidential Commission on Election Integrity sought to investigate what Trump claimed — without evidence — was widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election.
Gale declined to turn over Nebraska’s full voter information, saying it was unlikely the commission put together by Trump would use the information in a way that complied with state law and that he had concerns about data privacy.
Other secretaries of state across the country, including Republicans, also rebuffed the Trump administration in 2017, citing federal law in which states are responsible for running elections.
Reach the writer at 402-473-7120 or cdunker@journalstar.com.
On Bluesky @chrisdunker.bsky.social
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