Three more states — Delaware, Louisiana, and Maryland — on Monday announced they will not comply with President Trump's request for an exhaustive set of voter data via the new Election Integrity Commission to investigate Trump's belief that pervasive voter fraud cost him the popular vote in 2016. By CNN's count, this brings the total number of states refusing full compliance to 41 (plus the District of Columbia).
The commission's request is that states list the name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four Social Security digits, and 10-year voting history of each 2016 voter. The request was sent by the commission's vice chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who later clarified he is "not asking for [voter information] if it's not publicly available." However, state-level voter privacy laws universally prevent sharing at least one item on the administration's list: Social Security numbers. Indeed, the potential for violating state law is a primary obstacle in the 41 states that have taken issue with the commission demand, as are concerns about voter privacy and data security.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
7 beautiful towns to visit in Switzerland during the holidaysThe Week Recommends Find bliss in these charming Swiss locales that blend the traditional with the modern
-
The Week contest: Werewolf billPuzzles and Quizzes
-
'This needs to be a bigger deal'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom banSpeed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid warSpeed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freezeSpeed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bansSpeed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler groupSpeed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emergeSpeed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
-
Biden allows Ukraine to hit deep in RussiaSpeed Read The U.S. gave Ukraine the green light to use ATACMS missiles supplied by Washington, a decision influenced by Russia's escalation of the war with North Korean troops
-
Sri Lanka's new Marxist leader wins huge majoritySpeed Read The left-leaning coalition of newly elected Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won 159 of the legislature's 225 seats
