Arizona rejects Trump admin demands for complete voter registration database

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes says he has refused demands
from the U.S. Department of Justice to hand over voter registration
information and provide his office’s voter list maintenance procedures.

“Arizona voters deserve to
participate in elections without fear that their personal information
will be collected and stored in federal systems without proper legal
safeguards or transparency,” Fontes said in a written statement on
Friday.

For several months, the U.S.
Department of Justice has been asking states to turn over voter data and
information about voter list maintenance practices, causing concern
about how the federal government plans to use that information. 

President Donald Trump has, for
years, spread false claims that U.S. elections, and especially the one
he lost to Joe Biden in 2020, are rigged. Now, in his second term as
president, Trump has taken a heightened interest in state and local
election administration and announced plans — like his promise to ban
vote-by-mail — to illegally assert power over those processes. 

It’s the responsibility of Arizona’s
county recorders, not the federal government, to register voters and
maintain voter rolls, per the federal National Voter Registration Act
and the Arizona Election Procedures Manual. 

In his statement, Fontes said that
the DOJ’s demands to provide a complete copy of the state’s voter
registration database, which includes sensitive personal information
like driver’s license, Social Security numbers and birthdates, “raise
serious legal and constitutional concerns.”

“Arizona law strictly prohibits the
disclosure of this information, and releasing it would subject state
officials to felony liability,” he wrote. “These protections exist for a
reason: to defend voters’ privacy and prevent misuse of their personal
data.”

Fontes said that Arizona’s “robust,
data-driven approach” to voter list maintenance is rigorously applied
and said that only eligible voters remain on the rolls. 

Those procedures include confirmation
mail to voter addresses, action based on undeliverable election mail
and reports from the Electronic Registration Information Center, which
helps states collaborate to update voter information across state lines.
The state also participates in the SAVE program, which allows it to
verify immigration status for voter registration purposes. 

Fontes wrote that these services help
alert his office to duplicate registrations, and keeps elections
officials in Arizona in the know when a voter moves, dies or updates
their registration. 

Arizona also updates voter
registration records if a voter is convicted of a felony that
disqualifies them from voting or if they are declared mentally
incompetent. 

“These efforts are not only essential
for election integrity — they also help ensure that election mailings
are sent to valid, up-to-date addresses, minimizing waste of taxpayer
dollars and significantly reducing the confusion and mistrust that can
result from voters receiving mail for individuals who no longer reside
at an address or are deceased,” Fontes said. 

During his campaign last year,
Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap claimed that one-third of voters in
the state received vote-by-mail ballots for people who didn’t live at
their addresses. But that claim was based not on actual data from
official sources, but on a show of hands at his political events. 

Fontes also pointed out that Arizona
law requires voters to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship
when they register. Arizona is the only state with this requirement. 

While noncitizen voting is incredibly rare, Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that it is prevalent. 

In agreement with other election experts,
Fontes wrote that the DOJ hasn’t adequately explained how it has the
authority to preempt Arizona’s voter privacy protections or how its
request complies with the federal Privacy Act of 1974.

“Any federal agency collecting data
on voters — particularly data connected to how individuals exercise
their First Amendment rights — must follow federal law, including
disclosing how that data will be used, maintained, and protected,”
Fontes said. 

And, so far, the DOJ has not done that. 

“Arizona already uses best-in-class
tools and well-established legal procedures to ensure the accuracy,
integrity, and efficiency of its voter registration system,” Fontes
wrote. “Our commitment to secure, lawful, and transparent elections is
unwavering.

Fontes promised to continue to
protect the rights and privacy of the state’s voters as his office
continues to respond to inquiries from the federal government.