The Trump administration's latest election integrity effort is getting a mixed response from the states. Texas and 12 other states have complied with a Justice Department request to turn over their voter rolls for federal review. The Texas Secretary of State's Office confirms the state sent its voter list to the DOJ last month. But predictably, Democrat-led states are resisting. More than 20 states and D.C. are refusing to turn over their voter rolls, citing concerns about privacy and states' rights. The DOJ has filed lawsuits against those states.
The DOJ's request is part of a broader effort to purge ineligible voters from the rolls nationwide. "In order to have election integrity, the first step should be to make sure that only eligible voters vote, that people voting are U.S. citizens, that they aren't deceased," says Steve Munisteri, former Texas GOP Chair. "So the question isn't why are we doing this...to me, the real question should be why would Democrats oppose doing this?"
Some Democrats claim handing over the list would violate voters' privacy by sharing their personal information. "They're being disingenuous," says Munisteri. "They're complaining that the federal government would get the (partial) social security number of some Texans...well, the federal government generates those social security numbers, so they already have that information."
The issue of non-citizens voting has cropped up in several states in recent years, including Texas. That prompted legislation in Congress called the SAVE Act, to ensure only U.S. citizens can vote in U.S. elections. Of course, Democrats opposed that too. "Under President Trump, the federal government is now providing information to the states on who is a citizen and who is not," says Munisteri. "So this is basically a cooperative effort to make sure both entities have the most updated information on voters...again, why wouldn't you do this?"
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