41 states are refusing to comply with Trump's voter data request
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.
Of the remaining nine states, some have yet to receive their request letter and some have received it but kept silent so far. Just three — Colorado, Missouri, and Tennessee — responded positively to the idea.
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
Argentina’s Milei buoyed by regional election winsSpeed Read Argentine President Javier Milei is an ally of President Trump, receiving billions of dollars in backing from his administration
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
Political cartoons for October 27Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include improving national monuments, the NBA gambling scandal, and the AI energy vampire
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
