Trump voter data push prompts privacy concerns

Matt Germer, policy director for governance at the R Street Institute, said the dispute is “really a question of data privacy and federalism” rather than voter registration.

“This isn’t about whether we should maintain accurate voter rolls in this country. We should,” Germer said. “Instead, it is really the question of who has access to this data and whether the U.S. DOJ can compel states to share it.”

Torres and Germer both said that if the DOJ is successful in its effort it would create a high-value target for both criminal hackers and foreign governments.

“If there were to be a breach or misuse, that is a lot of incredibly valuable information and information voters would think is protected,” Germer said…

Germer said the partisan slant of the lawsuits — all the states sued are led by Democrats, except for New Hampshire and Georgia — “starts to feel like little more than a partisan exercise” and “the real merits of the case will be buried in sort of discussions about partisanship.”

Germer pointed out that in the past there were bipartisan efforts to have states work on voter registration maintenance together. Several states founded a voluntary program to help states compare voter data in the 2010s, known as the Electronic Registration Information Center, before several conservative states withdrew amid concerns about partisanship starting in 2022.

Rather than pursue litigation, Germer pointed out that the Trump administration could seek to have Congress update national voter registration laws.