U.S. Department of Justice wants your personal voting data

This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com

Washington’s secretary of state confirmed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) requested the personal data of all Washington voters.

This follows a Reuters report this week that the DOJ is talking with Homeland Security about transferring state voter data for use in crime and immigration investigations.

Secretary of state gets letter from Department of Justice

Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said he received a letter from the DOJ Civil Rights Division on September 8, requesting the information within 14 days.

According to the letter, the data “must include the registrant’s (registered voter’s) full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number.”

Hobbs isn’t ready to comply.

“As Washington’s chief election official, it is my responsibility to ensure the election process is safe, secure, and transparent,” he said in a statement to KIRO Newsradio. “This includes protecting Washingtonians’ voter information and privacy.”

He said he won’t hand over any information without a valid reason.

“I do not plan on releasing any information until DOJ provides me information on what they plan to do with the data,” Hobbs said.

The letter stated that the DOJ wants to ensure the state is complying with federal election laws. The Civil Rights Division has made similar requests for voter information from at least 24 states.

It’s unclear if any of the states have fully complied, amid concerns over the Trump administration’s vow to end mail-in voting and its immigration crackdown.

Read more of Heather Bosch’s stories here.