HARRISBURG, PA – Pennsylvania officials have denied a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to hand over the state's electronic voter registration list, citing a lack of legal justification.
The request, sent in an August 4 letter, asked the office of Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt for the full voter roll, which includes confidential information like Social Security and driver’s license numbers. The DOJ did not provide a reason for its request, which also sought responses to a survey about election administration.
In response, Schmidt said his office could not comply without a clear legal basis for the demand. "Because the department did not provide any legal justification for the confidential information," Schmidt stated, "my office could not hand over confidential information."
State officials confirmed that while some voter data is public, sensitive personal details are protected by law and cannot be shared without a specific, legally mandated reason.
