The key point is that
"voter data" is not one thing. The apparent contradiction comes from people referring to different kinds of voter information.
There are generally three categories:
- Public voter registration information
- In many states this includes a voter's name, address, precinct, party registration (where applicable), and voting history (whether they voted, not how they voted).
- Campaigns, political parties, researchers, journalists, and commercial data brokers often purchase or obtain this information under state law.
- This is what election experts are usually referring to when they say "everyone has this data."
- Restricted or confidential voter information
- Depending on state law, this can include driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers, dates of birth, signatures, email addresses, phone numbers, and information about protected voters (such as judges or domestic violence survivors).
- Much of this information is not available to the general public.
- The complete statewide voter registration database
- The Trump DOJ has sought unredacted statewide voter files, not merely the public voter list.
- Several states argued that these requests included confidential personal information protected by state and federal law. Courts in multiple cases have agreed that the federal statutes the DOJ relied upon do not clearly authorize those demands. (Reuters)
So why are some states cooperating while others are not?
There are several reasons, and they are not necessarily the same in every state:
- Different state laws. States have different statutes governing what election data may be shared and with whom.
- Different interpretations of federal authority. The central legal question has been whether the Civil Rights Act of 1960 gives the DOJ authority to compel production of unredacted voter files. Multiple federal judges have ruled that it does not, while the DOJ continues to appeal. (Reuters)
- Privacy concerns. States opposing the requests have argued they are protecting voters' confidential personal information, not necessarily refusing to provide all voter-roll information. (AP News)
- Policy differences. Some Republican-led states have voluntarily provided the requested information or negotiated with DOJ, while many Democratic-led states have chosen to litigate. That reflects differing legal and policy judgments as well as political disagreements. (NCSL)
Regarding the China claim you mentioned:
When experts say China (or anyone else) "already has the data," they are generally talking about the
publicly available voter-registration information that campaigns and data vendors routinely obtain from states. That statement is
not the same as saying China possesses confidential fields like driver's license numbers or partial Social Security numbers.
So there isn't necessarily a contradiction:
- Public voter registration lists can be widely available.
- At the same time, states can resist turning over non-public, unredacted voter databases containing sensitive information because they believe federal law doesn't require it or because state privacy laws restrict disclosure.
The current litigation is largely about
where the line is between those two categories and whether the DOJ has statutory authority to compel the broader, unredacted records, rather than about whether basic voter registration lists exist or are publicly accessible. (
NCSL)
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Maybe all the voter data is in some trailer?
oil up 4%….yawn
