Nebraska hands over potentially sensitive voter data to DOJ during legal fight
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Nebraska has handed over requested data to the U.S. Department of Justice, including parts that critics of the move have argued are potentially sensitive, the state’s top election official announced.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen fulfilled his promise to give the federal government the data this week. Nebraska joins a handful of states that have given state voter data to the Justice Department.
So far, the Justice Department has requested voter data from 44 states and Washington, D.C., with plans to seek the information from all 50 states. A few GOP-led states have declined or not responded, citing privacy concerns. A majority of Democratic-run states have declined to turn over the information.
Federal officials have asked states for names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers. The feds have said they want the information to help states ensure accurate voter registration rolls, based on reporting in other states.
In Nebraska, the state maintains more limited information.
The Secretary of State’s Office, in a Thursday evening statement, said the following information about registered voters was sent: county of residence, unique voter number, voter registration status, full name, address, date of birth and the last four digits of the voter’s Social Security number, driver’s license number or state ID number.
Evnen, an attorney, told conservative Omaha talk radio station KFAB that he has a “very clear view” on the state Supreme Court decision denying reconsidering an injunction request from voting advocacy group Common Cause.
“I have a very clear view that the courts of Nebraska are not stopping this information from being provided,” Evnen said. “They were asked to stop it. They refused to stop it.”
The high court decided to hear the voter data case in March. The lawsuit argued that state law aimed at privacy should stop the state from handing over potentially sensitive parts of voter data to the DOJ.
The Nebraska Supreme Court decided Wednesday to hear the voter data case on March 31. A Lancaster County District Court judge had rejected the push for an injunction late last week.
The Secretary of State’s Office shared a copy of the letter Evnen sent with state data to the DOJ. It explained that the data was being shared with the “understanding that the U.S. Department of Justice will follow all applicable laws or regulations of the federal government and the State of Nebraska with respect to [handling] the data.”
Common Cause attorney Daniel Gutman said, “Once the data is released, that bell cannot be unrung,” in a brief to the appeals courtthis week. The state argued that the DOJ request was reasonable.
In Lancaster County District Court, Common Cause argued that Nebraska law affords federal officials no special rights to access residents’ private information in parts of the voter file.
Critics have questioned the safety of letting any presidential administration consolidate state voter data in one place. The federal government has sued more than 20 states and the District of Columbia for not complying.
Earlier this week, a federal judge rejected the DOJ’s effort to obtain Michigan’s voter rolls. The FBI seized 2020 ballots and other election documents from Georgia’s Fulton County in a raid that relied on previously investigated claims about the 2020 election that no courts found credible.