1. United States
2. Ala.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to refuse any demands from the Justice Department for Alabama voters' sensitive personal information, including driver's license and partial Social Security numbers. Since May 2025, the DOJ has demanded full, unredacted voter rolls from at least 44 states and the District of Columbia. This unprecedented campaign threatens both our privacy and the integrity of our election system. The DOJ claims it needs this information to enforce the National Voter Registration Act and Help America Vote Act, relying on the Civil Rights Act of 1960 as legal justification. However, courts in California and Oregon have already dismissed these claims. The California court specifically noted that while the DOJ claimed its purpose was voter roll maintenance enforcement, statements by DOJ officials elsewhere "paint a starkly different picture." The judge expressed concern about "the centralization of Americans' information within the Executive Branch—without approval from Congress or Americans themselves." Alabama has the constitutional authority and expertise to maintain accurate voter rolls. States alone are responsible for running elections, including registering eligible voters and removing those who have moved, died, or become ineligible. The federal government lacks both the authority and resources to conduct list maintenance. A single snapshot of voter rolls provides no meaningful way to evaluate our state's ongoing maintenance programs. Amassing a vast collection of personal information about Alabama citizens creates serious privacy and security risks. Such a trove of sensitive data would be a prime target for hackers, and unauthorized individuals could disclose or misuse our information. The administration has made clear it intends to run its own analyses and potentially force states to remove voters based on incomplete and inaccurate information. I ask that you stand firm in protecting Alabama voters' privacy and our state's constitutional authority over elections. Provide only publicly available voter file information if any response is required, and vigorously defend our rights against federal overreach.