The Washington Office of the Secretary of State said it received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice on Monday. The letter requests access to the state’s complete voter registration database, including personal information of registered voters. The request was signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. Washington Secretary of State officials said they are reviewing the request before responding.
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested voter registration information from Washington state, including full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, and either state driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Similar requests have been sent to at least 22 other states. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said, “As Washington’s chief election official, it is my responsibility to ensure the election process is safe, secure, and transparent. This includes protecting Washingtonians’ voter information and privacy. I will work with all stakeholders to ensure we maintain both,” according to the Washington Secretary of State.
Secretary Hobbs said he will not release voter data to the Department of Justice without more information on how it will be used, stating, "To that end, I do not plan on releasing any information until DOJ provides me information on what they plan to do with the data." The Office of the Secretary of State said it will respond after reviewing the legal and privacy implications. Washington law protects certain information, including full birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers, which are not part of the public voter registration database, as reported by the Washington Secretary of State.
