Justice Department Seeks Voter Registration Data From All 50 States

The Justice Department is seeking voter registration list data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Officials described the requests as part of their responsibility to ensure that states maintain proper and effective voter registration and voter list maintenance programs.

While many states have provided the data, the department has filed lawsuits against 30 states and Washington, D.C., for refusing to comply. The requests asked states to enter a confidential memorandum of understanding that would share voter names, dates of birth, residential addresses, state driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

Under the proposed agreements, the department said it would notify states of any voter list maintenance issues, insufficiencies, inadequacies, deficiencies, anomalies or concerns identified during its review of the data. The Justice Department has said the requests follow a March 2025 executive order directing the attorney general to ensure compliance with voter registration laws and to take action regarding states that fail to comply.

The department has previously sought some election-related information from states, but not voter registration databases on this scale. States administer their own elections and maintain their own voter data. There is no national voter database, and the federal government does not oversee U.S. elections.

Six Republican-leaning states that have refused to provide data are Idaho, Utah, West Virginia, Kentucky and Georgia. Iowa, Mississippi, South Dakota and Tennessee provided data but did not sign the memorandums of understanding. Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Kansas and Montana have willingly provided voter data.