DOJ Demands Access to Minnesota’s Voter Rolls

By Matt Cohen

Minnesota State Capitol. (Wikimedia Commons)

The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding access to Minnesota’s voter rolls, as well as proof of the state’s compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), according to a letter exclusively obtained by Democracy Docket. 

The DOJ sent a similar letter to Pennsylvania inquiring about the state’s HAVA compliance, which was obtained by Votebeat. And Democracy Docket reviewed a letter sent by the department to a third state, which declined to be named, inquiring about HAVA compliance and demanding access to statewide voter registration rolls.

The Minnesota letter, sent to Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) on June 25, asked the state to provide information on HAVA-related questions involving voter registration, voter roll maintenance procedures and the state’s security measures to ensure unauthorized individuals can’t access voter rolls. 

Maureen Riordan, the acting chief of the DOJ’s voting section, requested a response from Simon’s office within 30 days. A spokesperson for Simon’s office told Democracy Docket  that they have not yet provided a response. 

At least two of the questions posed in the Minnesota letter are not related to HAVA requirements. One question asks Simon’s office to describe how noncitizens are identified and removed from the state’s voter rolls. 

The other question asks Simon’s office to send the DOJ Minnesota’s “current statewide voter registration list,” including “both active and inactive voters.” 

Riordan’s previous employer, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), filed a lawsuit last year to gain access to Minnesota’s voter rolls. Minnesota is one of six states that are exempt from the National Voter Registration Act’s public disclosure provision that requires states to allow public inspection of voter list maintenance records for at least two years. Though Riordan is no longer with PILF, litigation is ongoing in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Minnesota letter is part of a broader effort by the DOJ to monitor and interrogate states’ compliance with federal voting laws concerning voter roll maintenance. 

In May, the DOJ sent a letter to Arizona, accusing election officials of not properly verifying voters’ identities in violation of HAVA. And in June, the DOJ issued a formal warning to Wisconsin’s elections board, accusing it of violating HAVA by failing to provide voters with a required complaint process.