Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has refused the Department of Justice’s latest request to access Arizonans’ voter data.
For months, the DOJ has sought unredacted copies of Arizona’s statewide voter registration list, which includes voters’ names, dates of birth, addresses and driver’s license information or partial Social Security numbers.
The requests came as Trump administration officials accused election administrators in Arizona and other states of failing to follow a federal law requiring them to verify voter identities.
“The Justice Department is requesting your state’s VRL to test, analyze, and assess states’ VRLs for proper list maintenance and compliance with federal law,” according to a proposed data-sharing agreement sent to Fontes by the Department of Justice’s Voting Section on Dec. 12.
Fontes rejected that agreement on Dec. 19.
In a letter to Tim Mellett, deputy chief of the DOJ’s voting section, Fontes reiterated his position that state law prohibits him from disclosing sensitive voter information, referencing a state law that makes it a felony to share the statewide voter lists for purposes not specifically cited in the law.
The proposed agreement outlines the steps the DOJ would take to ensure the security of Arizonans’ sensitive data, but Fontes argued that the memorandum of understanding proposed by the DOJ doesn't meet the requirements of federal privacy laws.
“As Arizona’s Chief Elections Officer, I am committed to complying with both state and federal law to ensure that eligible voters’ rights to register and voter are protected at all costs,” Fontes wrote. “Arizona voters also have important privacy rights that cannot be infringed because they choose to exercise their constitutionally protected voting rights.”
Fontes and the Trump administration have been at odds for months over who has the authority to access that sensitive voter data.
In its proposed data-sharing agreement, the DOJ argued that federal law, including the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, gives the U.S. attorney general the authority to request records needed to enforce the law.
The DOJ did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson previously said the department would use the data to screen for ineligible voters on the rolls.
The department has filed suit against 22 Republican and Democratic states that did not turn over voter roll information.
In August, the department indicated it could seek a court order to force Fontes to turn over Arizona’s data, though such a suit has not yet been filed.
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