Minnesota rejects DOJ voter data demand that targets same-day registration

Minnesota election officials denied a new Justice Department demand targeting the state’s same-day voter registration and vouching system, rejecting what they describe as an unlawful federal attempt to intrude on sensitive voter information and state authority over elections.

In a response letter sent Friday, Minnesota’s Office of the Secretary of State (OSS) refused to turn over unredacted records related to election-day registration and residency verification. The state said the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division — led by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon — failed to identify any legal authority allowing it to obtain the data, or any evidence that Minnesota’s long-standing practices violate federal law.

The dispute centers on Minnesota’s election-day voter registration law, which allows eligible voters to register at the polls and, in limited circumstances, establish residency through a sworn voucher — such as a registered neighbor or staff member at a residential facility.

The DOJ has suggested the practice may conflict with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a claim Minnesota flatly rejected.

“Because the DOJ has not otherwise provided an adequate legal basis to obtain the data that it seeks, the OSS is not able to provide any other information at this time,” Justin R. Erickson, Deputy Secretary of State for Operations, wrote. “You also identify no basis for believing that Minnesota’s longstanding and publicly available election-day registration or vouching laws violate HAVA.”

Minnesota officials framed the issue as one of voter access and democratic participation, warning that federal data grabs risk undermining public trust in elections.

“Election-day registration and vouching play an important role in increasing voter participation and improving the accessibility of Minnesota elections. They allow eligible voters who have recently moved or changed their names to cast their votes. And both processes are accompanied by a series of well-established safeguards to ensure Minnesota’s elections are secure,” Erickson added. “For many voters, providing a current state identification eliminates the need for a voucher to prove residency. But for those who lack state identification or recently moved, vouching provides an important option to prevent those eligible voters’ disenfranchisement.”

Rather than turning over sensitive voter data, the state said it would instead provide training guides and educational materials explaining how election-day registration and vouching already comply with federal law.

The state emphasized that vouching is tightly regulated and rarely used — accounting for less than 0.6% of voters in the November 2024 election — and is backed by criminal penalties for false statements. Vouchers must be registered voters in the same precinct, may vouch for no more than eight people and must sign sworn oaths under penalty of perjury. Election judges track the process, and questionable registrations are referred to law enforcement.

This latest confrontation between the DOJ and state election officials is not isolation.

Minnesota’s refusal builds on a broader DOJ campaign seeking access to statewide voter rolls in dozens of states — including Minnesota — a push that has already begun to unravel in court. Federal judges have recently dismissed DOJ lawsuits demanding unredacted voter registration databases, warning that the department has stretched civil rights laws beyond their purpose and threatens voter participation.

Those rulings have undercut the legal foundation of the DOJ’s national effort and strengthened states’ arguments that election administration remains, first and foremost, a state responsibility.

Minnesota’s letter makes that position explicit, while leaving the door open to dialogue.

“If the DOJ believes that it still requires additional information regarding this matter, the OSS asks that the DOJ identify the specific provisions of HAVA that it believes are inconsistent with Minnesota election laws so that the OSS can determine what other data would be appropriate to provide,” Erickson concluded. “Minnesota is proud to have an elections system that is safe, secure, fair, and accessible.”