Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab is providing the U.S. Justice Department with publicly available voter data in response to the Trump administration’s request for voter information lists.
In a letter to the Justice Department on Thursday, Schwab agreed to provide the data but at this point in time is not supplying the last four digits of Social Security numbers nor the driver’s license numbers sought by the Trump administration.
Schwab said he understood that the Social Security and driver’s license data would be protected by federal privacy laws.
At the suggestion of the Justice Department, Schwab said his agency is working with the state motor vehicles division to assess whether additional information may be used to supplement the existing information found in the Kansas voter registration list.
“We agree that routine voter maintenance is critical to ensuring accurate voter rolls and confidence in elections,” Schwab’s letter said.
“To this end, Kansas county election officials undertake more than a dozen activities on a
routine basis to clean voter rolls,” he wrote
“This includes every activity authorized under the National Voter Registration Act, which sets certain standards for voter registration.”
Schwab said the state recently scanned the voter list, which includes the names of about 2 million Kansans, to ensure that voters’ names were not duplicated.
He also said county election officials are in the process of removing verified duplicate voters from the registration list.
“To ensure DOJ receives a voter registration list that reflects this de-duplication and removal of out-of-state deceased, the agency will provide DOJ with an updated list once these efforts are complete,” Schwab wrote.
The secretary of state also attached a narrative summary of Kansas’ voter roll maintenance activities, which include reviewing obituaries, mailing confirmation notices, reviewing jury-duty lists and reviewing federal felony lists.
The Justice Department sent two letters this month to Schwab seeking the state’s voter registration list, including voters’ full names, birth dates, residential addresses, and driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
The department said it was seeking the information to determine whether the state was complying with the “maintenance requirements” of the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act.
The NVRA was intended to make registering to vote easier, while HAVA established minimum standards for election administration, voting systems and voter access.
The information, first sought in a letter from the U.S. Justice Department on Aug. 6, had to be submitted by Thursday, Aug. 21. A second letter was sent last week.
The Associated Press reported earlier this month that the Justice Department has requested copies of voter registration lists from election officials in at least 15 states.
The AP reported that in Colorado, the department demanded “all records” relating to the 2024 election and any records the state retained from the 2020 election.
Election officials from Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Utah and Wisconsin told The AP they received written requests for the information from Justice.
At least one other, Oklahoma, received the request by phone, according to The AP.
While some states have taken a combative approach to the request – one state election official said the Department of Justice could jump in the Gulf of Maine – Schwab took a more conciliatory tone.
A Republican candidate for governor in 2026, Schwab thanked the president for elevating information sharing for voter roll maintenance to a national priority.
He also thanked the president for an executive order that directed the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to share information with states for voter roll maintenance.
“This directive is a key step toward strengthening voter roll maintenance nationwide,” he wrote.
“Having reached out to these federal agencies in prior years, and having received no useful response, we are well-aware of how important it is for federal and state governments to work together to share information verifying voter registration information.
“No previous administration has taken the initiative to bring this tool to the states.”
Schwab said his office has requested and obtained the ability to access data held by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to identify and remove noncitizens from the voter registration database.
He said his agency has requested the Social Security Administration’s death master file to help maintain the state’s voter rolls.
“We have been assured that the SSA data can be provided, although our request has not yet been granted,” he wrote.
“Accessing this information is the only way the state can identify voters who have died outside of the state and, in accordance with state law, remove them from the voter rolls.”
Utah election officials took a similar approach to Kansas in responding to the request.
Utah provided the requested voter list, but the Salt Lake Tribune reported that information did not include Social Security numbers or birth dates.
The newspaper also reported that the submission did not contain the names of voters whose information was marked as private or withheld.
“The state of Utah is in compliance with federal election law…and has implemented safe, secure, and timely safeguards and processes for maintaining voter registration lists,” Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson wrote in response.
“Utah has a robust process for voter list maintenance and monthly certification from county clerks to ensure maintenance is being done,” Henderson wrote.
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