South Dakota Secretary of State Confirms Unintentional Disclosure of Voter Registration Data
#KXLGNews #KXLGRadio991 #LiveandLocal #StateNews #SouthDakota
#election #vote #VoterRegistration
South Dakota Secretary of State Confirms Unintentional Disclosure of Voter Registration Data
#KXLGNews #KXLGRadio991 #LiveandLocal #StateNews #SouthDakota
#election #vote #VoterRegistration
#Maine rejects #JusticeDepartment’s request for all #voters’ personal info, list of election officials
Secretary of State #ShennaBellows' responded to the request by telling the DOJ to "go jump in the Gulf of Maine."
by Dylan Tusinski, July 29, 2025
AUGUSTA — "Maine is denying the U.S. Department of Justice access to its voter registration records, state officials said Tuesday, rejecting an unprecedented request for sensitive voter data that the Trump administration has now delivered to all 50 states.
"A letter late last week to Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and signed by Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney General Michael Gates claims Maine had roughly 11,000 voters with duplicate registration. It requested the state’s entire voter registration list dating back to November 2022 'to ensure that ineligible voters are being removed.'
"The state has 14 days to respond to the letter dated July 24.
"Bellows, who is also a Democratic candidate for governor, said in a press conference Tuesday the Trump administration is overstepping its bounds, empowering false narratives and 'trying to change the topic away from the Epstein files.'
" 'Article 1 of the Constitution places the states — not President Trump, not the federal government — in charge of federal elections,' she said. 'The DOJ doesn’t get to know everything about you just because they want to.'
"Bellows’ office is coordinating with Maine’s Office of Attorney General to draft a formal response, she said.
The Maine Republican Party has previously claimed widespread voter fraud across the state, but a subsequent investigation by Bellows’ office concluded this month and found those claims were baseless. Just because someone is registered to vote in two different towns doesn’t mean they intended to vote twice. Often, it simply means that they moved between elections.
"A spokesman for Maine Senate Republicans declined to comment on the DOJ’s request or Bellows’ response. Other Maine GOP officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
"In addition to #VoterRegistration information, the DOJ also has requested the names of local election officials as well as information about noncitizens, felons, and deceased people’s alleged participation in Maine elections following President Donald Trump’s repeated false claims that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him.
" 'Please provide a description of the steps that Maine has taken, and when those steps were taken, to identify registered voters who are ineligible to vote as well as the procedures it used to remove those ineligible voters from the registration list,' the DOJ’s letter reads.
"The DOJ has not publicly said why they are seeking voter records across the country. Asked about the request to Maine and other states, spokesperson Pierson Furnish replied in an email 'No comment.'
"The first Trump administration similarly made requests to view all Americans’ voter information in 2017. Then-Secretary of State Matt Dunlap said at the time he would release voters’ names, ages, residences and districts with the government, as allowed by Maine law.
"The American Civil Liberties Union [#ACLU] of Maine said the DOJ’s actions both now and then are part of 'a clear pattern of intimidation' and applauded Bellows’ refusal to share voters’ information.
" 'This letter also fuels #FalseNarratives that sow distrust in our elections. Maine elections are safe, secure, and accessible, and that’s why Maine consistently has some of the highest voter turnout,' said Samuel Crankshaw, the group’s communications director. 'Our government should focus on helping more people exercise their fundamental rights.'
Maine’s voter turnout is reliably high compared to other states and more Mainers voted in 2024 than in any election before, according to state voting data.
"The Justice Department initially reached out to swing states like #Michigan, #Arizona and #Wisconsin, where local election clerks have reported federal agents requesting broad access to the states’ #RegistrationRolls and #VotingMachines.
Now, Bellows said all 50 states have received similar letters. #Maine, #Minnesota and #NewHampshire are the only states to have rejected the requests so far."
Archived version:
https://archive.md/K91De
>>Federal laws restrict the federal government’s ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information.<<
https://stateline.org/2025/07/16/trumps-doj-wants-states-to-turn-over-voter-lists-election-info/
>>Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin have all declined to release full lists. In Maine, Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows plans to deny a similar request, telling the Maine Morning Star that the DOJ can “go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”<<
https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/doj-plans-to-ask-all-states-for-detailed-voting-info/
#Politics #DOJ #trump #VoterRegistration #Interference#Wisconsin #Corruption #ElectionCommission #VoterRolls #2020Election #alt
Aaron Parnas 7/24/25
DOJ WANTS WISCONSIN VOTER REGISTRATION ROLLS
We don’t need no stinkin’ excuses—just votes.
Join our virtual voter registration party and help get PA ready for November! https://www.mobilize.us/bluevote/event/817896/
#VoterRegistration #RegisterToVote #DefendDemocracy #BlueVote #PA2025 #VotingMatters
https://www.mobilize.us/bluevote/event/817896/
#UnitedKingdom government confirms the #voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK in time for the next general #election, in line with current rules in #Wales and #Scotland. Reactions are mixed. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c93kkg37n3kt
More importantly, they are discussing automatic #VoterRegistration. That would be an easy way to assure #USA voter rolls were correct: Every eligible citizen is auto-registered on their 18th birthday and deregistered only if they become legally ineligible. Done.
>>Such integration has never existed before, and experts call it a sea change that inches the U.S. closer to having a roster of citizens — something the country has never embraced. A centralized national database of Americans' personal information has long been considered a third rail — especially to privacy advocates as well as political conservatives, who have traditionally opposed mass data consolidation by the federal government.
Legal experts told NPR they were alarmed that a development of this magnitude was already underway without a transparent and public process.<<
#KOSU #NPR #USPol #CitizenshipDatabase #Privacy #DataCollection #VoterRegistration #ElectionSecurity
https://www.kosu.org/politics/2025-06-29/the-trump-administration-is-building-a-national-citizenship-data-system
Casper cited arguments made by the #states that the requirements would “burden the States with significant efforts & substantial costs” to update procedures.
The ruling is the second #legal setback for #Trump’s election order. A federal judge in Washington, D.C., previously blocked parts of the directive, including the proof-of-#citizenship requirement for the federal #VoterRegistration form.
Trump DOJ Orders Disturbing Reshuffling on Elections #DonaldTrump #DOJ #MadKingDonald #DementiaDon #Unhinged #FailuretoLead #Unqualified #Incompetence #Voterregistration
https://share.newsbreak.com/cu670o22
A federal judge in DC has paused a key section of #Trump's #ExecutiveOrder that makes sweeping changes to #voting & #elections.
Critics of Trump's #EO say it could disenfranchise millions of would-be #voters, & exceeds his authority.
The EO instructs the independent Election Assistance Commission (#EAC) to change the mail #VoterRegistration form to require that applicants show a document proving US #citizenship before they can be registered to #vote.
#law #VotingRights
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/24/nx-s1-5372526/trump-voting-executive-order-pause
If you live in Georgia, check your voter registration, and then check it again before the next election. Georgia is going to purge 450 thousand voters. Many of these will be legit, having moved or lapsed, but check yours anyway.
Somalia launches national voter registration campaign http://newsfeed.facilit8.network/TK86cG #Somalia #VoterRegistration #Elections #Democracy #PoliticalReform
Will the #SAVEAct make it harder for #married women to vote? We ask legal experts
The legislation, known as the SAVE Act, looks to make sweeping reforms on voter registration. It was introduced in response to fears about voter fraud, though research has consistently showed that such incidents are exceedingly rare and not a significant factor in American #elections.
#voterregistration #voterfraud #trump #maga #gop #takedown #marriedwomen #electionfraud
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/13/g-s1-59684/save-act-married-women-vote-rights-explained
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-democrats-who-voted-pass-save-act-2058404
The move will disenfranchise troops overseas, #NativeAmericans, #marriedwomen whose name does not match their birth certificate, and #disabled people who cannot physically get to a #voterregistration location to show their proof.
The following four Democrats voted to pass the bill through Congress:
#RepJaredGolden, #MEpol
#RepMarieGluesenkampPerez, #WApol
#RepHenryCuellar, #TXpol
#RepEdCase, HIpol
#Trump seeks to mandate proof of #citizenship in #VoterRegistration
"Only about half of Americans have a U.S. passport, and only five states currently offer enhanced driver's licenses that show proof of citizenship."
By Jude Joffe-Block, March 26, 20251:09 AM ET
Excerpt: "#VotingRights advocates, however, warn outdated databases can erroneously list naturalized citizens as noncitizens. Past efforts by states to purge noncitizens from voter rolls have sometimes swept up eligible U.S. citizens.
"The executive order also seeks to stop states from counting mail or absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day but received after by withholding funding from states that allow such ballots to be counted.
"Proof of citizenship requirement
"Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump and his allies made baseless claims about the threat of noncitizens voting in large numbers.
"The current federal voter registration form asks registrants to swear, under penalty of perjury, that they are U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, and to provide a driver's license number, state ID number or Social Security number. Those who attempt to vote illegally can face prison time, fines or deportation. Past audits and studies have shown such cases are incredibly rare.
"Yet Republicans have made requiring documentary proof of citizenship a policy priority. The executive order borrows heavily from the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, known as the #SAVEAct, a Republican-backed bill. House Republicans have signaled that they intend to pass it in their chamber but it faces difficult odds in the Senate.
"The executive order shows #Trump isn't waiting for Congress. But legal experts say that he does not have the authority through #ExecutiveOrder to make such changes, and the order conflicts with existing #FederalVotingLaw.
"'It's illegal at many different levels,' said Sean Morales-Doyle, the voting rights director at the #BrennanCenter for Justice, a nonprofit that studies and advocates for voting rights. The order directs the #ElectionAssistanceCommission, a small, independent bipartisan agency, to make various changes, including to the federal #VoterRegistration form, but Morales-Doyle said the president can't tell that commission what to do.
"Requiring documentary proof of #citizenship would radically upend voter registration if such a mandate were to take effect.
"The order is explicit that applies to anyone who uses the federal voter registration form. What is less clear is if the order would also pressure states to require showing proof of citizenship with state registration forms, such as by #WithholdingFunds.
"The order only lists a limited number of ways to prove U.S. citizenship. The options given are a U.S. passport, an ID that complies with the #RealIDAct that shows citizenship or a military ID that shows citizenship. A fourth option is a valid government photo ID that 'indicates that the applicant is a United States citizen or if such identification is otherwise accompanied by proof of United States citizenship,' but does not say if a birth certificate would count."
Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/26/g-s1-55927/trump-voting-citizenship-executive-order
#TrumpIsABully #USPol #TrumpIsPutinsPuppet #Fascism #Authoritarianism #DictatorInChief
Are #LiteracyTests Next? #VoterDisenfranchisement #CharacteristicsOfFascism
Verified that we're on the voters' list for the upcoming #CanadianElection. Yay - we can vote.
After you check your registration there is a very short #survey about the process which includes a comment section at the end.
I wrote a short paragraph requesting #ElectionsCanada drop the birdsite due to its bad-actor owner/operator, and use the more fair-and-open Fediverse via Mastodon.
You can too.
See this link:
"A Republican-backed bill would upend voter registration. Here are 8 things to know"
"Congressional Republicans are pushing a bill that would make sweeping changes to voter registration, including requiring those signing up to present documents proving U.S. citizenship. But tens of millions of Americans say they don't have easy access to such documents, and critics say the proposal would dramatically depress voter participation."
#USpol #USpolitics #VoterRegistration
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5301676/save-act-explainer-voter-registration
Congressional #Republicans are pushing a #Trump backed bill that would make sweeping changes to #VoterRegistration, including requiring those signing up to present documents proving US #citizenship. But tens of millions of Americans say they don't have easy access to such documents, & critics say the proposal would dramatically depress voter participation.
#law #VotingRights #CivilRights #USpol
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/12/nx-s1-5301676/save-act-explainer-voter-registration
नए साल में उत्तराखंड के 1,23,250 नए मतदाता होंगे वोटर लिस्ट में शामिल।
https://aliyesha.com/sub/articles/news/display/uk_new_year_voter_registration_count_2025
#uttarakhand #dehradun #india #news #press #elections #voter #voting #registration #VoterRegistration
Enjoy tracker free reading with us. #privacy #privacymatters