ST. PAUL, MN – Republican members of the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee have sent a formal letter to Secretary of State Steve Simon urging his office to comply with a request from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division for Minnesota’s statewide voter registration list.
The request comes in the wake of a recent federal case in which individuals pleaded guilty to attempting to register fake and illegal voters in Minnesota, highlighting growing concerns about weaknesses in the state’s voter registration system.
The Secretary of State’s General Counsel denied the federal request, stating that the list contains personal identifying information. However, any private citizen can buy the same information through the Secretary of State’s website for $46 with personal information removed.
Quam disputed the General Counsel’s claim, noting that under the federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA), states are already required to submit voter registration data, including name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number, for verification against federal databases. Minnesota, like all states, has participated in this process for years to maintain eligibility to conduct federal elections.
“It is troubling that the Secretary of State would deny a lawful request from the Department of Justice, especially when Minnesota already shares similar data under federal law through HAVA,” said Rep. Duane Quam (R–Byron), GOP Chair of the Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee. “Complying with one federal requirement while rejecting another, on an issue as critical as election integrity, undermines public trust and raises legitimate concerns.”
Quam also cited past audits by the Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA), which identified tens of thousands of questionable registrations flagged by the HAVA-SSA verification system. In another OLA report presented to the legislature in 2018, it was revealed that the Secretary of State’s Office failed to disclose more than 16,000 bad registrations from the 2016 election.
“Having worked closely with the Office of the Legislative Auditor and served on election oversight committees for years, I can say these problems are not new, and they’re not minor,” said Quam. “Minnesotans expect transparency and accountability from our election officials. After past failures to report tens of thousands of bad registrations, the refusal to cooperate with the Civil Rights Division’s review calls the Secretary’s commitment to those principles into question.”
Committee members expressed concern that refusing to comply with a routine DOJ request could expose the state to unnecessary legal risk. Other states that refused have faced lawsuits, and with Minnesota facing a projected $6 billion deficit, members warned that the Secretary’s decision could trigger costly legal action from the federal government.
The letter, signed by all House Republicans on the committee, reaffirms the caucus’s commitment to election integrity, voter confidence, and full cooperation with lawful federal oversight.
A copy of the full letter is available here.
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