Minnesota election head moves to dismiss federal lawsuit seeking voter data

Secretary of State Steve Simon moved Tuesday to dismiss a federal government lawsuit seeking broad access to Minnesota voter data, calling it a “fishing expedition” involving sensitive personal information.

Lawyers for Simon asked a federal judge to toss out the case brought in September by the U.S. Department of Justice. The new motion contends the federal lawsuit doesn’t make a clear legal argument for accessing the state-maintained data.

“Congress did not authorize this type of fishing expedition; rather, it expressly directed states to prevent unauthorized access to statewide voter registration lists,” a brief accompanying the Simon dismissal motion said in part.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, who like Simon is a DFLer, is representing the secretary of state in the case.

Later Tuesday, Justice Department attorneys filed a new motion to demand release of more election materials. They want a judge to force release of all voter registration data and other data for elections going back at least two years.

“Ensuring the accuracy of the list of eligible voters preserves the integrity of Minnesota’s federal election procedures,” the DOJ filing says.

The Trump administration sued Simon as part of a series of election-related cases against states that are primarily led by Democratic officials. To date, 22 states and the District of Columbia have faced similar litigation. 

Those cases followed a March executive order from President Donald Trump alleging widespread voter fraud; the order directed the U.S. attorney general to take action against states that don’t consent to data-sharing arrangements with the federal government.

The DOJ argues it is entitled to state-maintained voter information, including partial Social Security numbers and drivers license numbers. The federal lawsuit says it needs the files so it can ensure voter lists are updated and those ineligible to vote are removed.

Some states have pushed back out of concern that other executive orders free up federal agencies to share databases for use in immigration enforcement and other crackdowns.

According to the fresh court filing, Minnesota collects “an immense amount of data about voters and potential voters,” including details from driver’s licenses, Social Security numbers, birth information, home and online addresses and more. There is some data held in confidential format to protect victims of domestic violence, harassment or stalking.

The datasets are used to classify voters as active, inactive, challenged or deceased. Simon’s attorneys say it is “routinely updated” by state and local elections officials.

The Simon filing said Minnesota has taken great pains to keep a balance between privacy rights and voter-data access and contends the DOJ request would disrupt that.

Simon's filing says the lawsuit hasn't raised specific concerns about Minnesota's list maintenance system. He argues that none of the laws DOJ cites in its case requires the state to release the data. 

“Because Congress has not authorized the sweeping requests made here, state law controls access to the state’s voter registration data and the United States has no authority to require its production,” the filing reads.

A court hearing on both the federal government motion and Simon’s dismissal motion are set for early March.

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