Image: Tre Hargett & Mark Goins Image Credit: Tennessee Secretary of State / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
After months of negotiations between the Tennessee Division of Elections and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), the state finally handed over voter data to the Trump administration as part of its federal push to purge ineligible voters nationally, though the state did refuse to sign a memorandum complying with the DOJ’s requirement to purge the rolls within 45 days.
DOJ officials first contacted TN Administrator of Election Mark Goins by letter in August requesting copies of the voter rolls and lists of all local election officials responsible for maintaining them, giving the state 14 days to respond.
While federal law gives the U.S. attorney general authority to ensure states effectively maintain voter rolls, including removing deceased voters, illegal aliens, and those who have moved to other states, this request is unprecedented as the state has not typically been required to divulge this much information to the federal government.
Historically, the Tennessee Division of Elections has just received a letter asking whether the department is complying with voter registration laws and asking for evidence of such compliance. Once the proof was provided, no further information had been requested.
The data submitted to the DOJ includes voter’s first and last names, dates of birth, addresses, and the last four digits of their social security numbers (SSN), though voting history was not included. Goins and the TN Elections Division attempted to have the SSNs excluded from the information, citing concerns over citizen privacy and questioning how the DOJ intends to use the information, but Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon insisted.
“We had to,” Goins said, explaining the state’s legal obligation to share the data. “They have the authority to enforce and sue a state if they are not doing proper list maintenance, and the common-sense argument is, how do you verify that?”
Goins does not anticipate the DOJ will recommend large-scale voter purges because of the probe because he says Tennessee already has stringent voter roll maintenance policies in place and is unaware of any issues or abnormalities in the rolls that need attention.
“We feel like we’re meeting the statute. In fact, we think we’re going beyond federal law. They still wanted to verify we were doing it,” Goins said. “This is the first time that I know that someone’s come in and said, ‘we want your voter rolls.’”
But one area in which the state refused to budge was the DOJ’s insistence that voters be automatically purged from the rolls in 45 days after being determined ineligible by the federal government, with Tennessee officials said the 45-day deadline would violate the National Voter Registration Act.
The state would not sign the memorandum of understanding (MOU), with the state again citing voter data privacy concerns and arguing the agreement was one-sided, making requirements for the state while providing advantages to the federal government.
In their official letter of refusal issued on Dec. 18, Secretary of State Tre Hargett and Goins wrote, “It is our understanding that the despite the concerns raised by a group of Secretaries of State earlier this week, no amendments will be made to the draft Memorandum of Understanding. Since our concerns have not been addressed, we must decline to sign the MOU. We are concerned that the 45-day deadline…to remove voters identified by the Justice Department contradicts the same laws the MOU seeks to enforce, namely the National Voter Registration Act.”
In part, Tennessee laws require the state to attempt to contact voters via letter before removal, which Goins said the state is committed to following along with all other applicable laws before any voters are removed from the rolls.
Additionally, on Jan. 9, the Democrat National Committee (DNC) sent a letter to Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett threatening legal action if the state should enter the MOU with the Trump administration.
The DNC also requested records from January 1 to present including any agreements between the DOJ and Tennessee concerning voter registration list maintenance, correspondence between the DOJ and state on the subject, any notices from the DOJ of any issues, anomalies, deficiencies, etc. regarding voter registration maintenance, and the names of any registered voters removed from the registration list, inactivated, or contacted based on the 45-day removal demand.
The DOJ has requested the voter registration data from all 50 states, but only around 13 have so far agreed to turn over their rolls, spurring the federal department to file lawsuits in 23 states and Washington, D.C., especially as some of those states have condemned the efforts by the Trump administration to pursue election integrity by securing voter rolls.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
