By Caitlin Byrd
The U.S. Department of Justice is pressing South Carolina to hand over its complete detailed list of registered voters. The DOJ is seeking personal information on 3.3 million people in the state without saying why it wants the data or how it plans to use it.
The massive cache sought includes names, addresses, birthdates, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers — data that critics warn could be a goldmine for identity thieves or a major security risk if improperly stored or mishandled.
The DOJ request goes far beyond what ordinary citizens, political campaigns or researchers can legally obtain when they purchase South Carolina’s voter rolls. The disparity raises questions about why the federal government is seeking the information, and why now.
“The DOJ’s requests and demands for data are unprecedented in its history,” said David Becker, a former Justice Department attorney who worked in the Voting Section during the administrations of presidents Bill Clinton, a Democrat, and George W. Bush, a Republican.
“Every single citizen should be concerned about their sensitive, non-public data and how it's being used,” said Becker, who now runs the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research.
“If the DOJ is collecting a vast database of this voter data, they better have an absolutely airtight statutory reason that justifies their collection, which they don't,” he continued. “And they better have a really good explanation to the states of how they're going to protect that data and limit access to it, which they don’t.”
No federal law requires states to provide voter registration lists to the federal government, Becker said.
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In addition to seeking the state’s voter rolls, the DOJ also asked for “a complete list of election officials who are responsible for carrying out the list maintenance responsibilities between November 2022 and November 2024,” adding that this included “those responsible officials not employed by your office (such as local election officials) who are also involved in that effort.”
South Carolina’s voter rolls are publicly available online for purchase, and a statewide list can be downloaded for $2,500. Most often this is done by political or advocacy groups to target their messaging, which is a common practice every election season.
But those files do not contain the private personal information, like driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, that the federal government now is insisting the state provide.
Lynn Teague, vice president for issues and action with the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, said she was deeply concerned by the DOJ’s request for such information.
“Anything that looks like a fishing expedition by people who may want to cast doubt on election integrity concerns us deeply,” she said.
From the state’s political party front, reactions were polar opposite.
State Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick praised the DOJ request, saying it reflects the Trump administration’s effort to verify that all registered voters are U.S. citizens and therefore eligible to vote, calling it “a position that's supported by a majority of the American people.” “It's another example of President Trump working to do exactly what he said that he would do when he ran for the White House,” he added.
By contrast, Christale Spain, the chair of the S.C. Democratic Party, called the request “an unacceptable, unprovoked invasion of privacy and a dangerous example of federal overreach.”“How would South Carolinians feel if Trump's Department of Justice asked for a list of all gun owners to ensure their age and legality?” she asked. “The right to vote is sacred, and so is the right to privacy. We will not stand by while the federal government tries to turn our voter rolls into a surveillance tool.”
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