Warner, Kaine Join Colleagues Demanding Presidential Advisory Commission Rescind Request For State Election Officials’ Voter Roll Data

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine joined 24
colleagues in demanding the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election
Integrity rescind its request that state election officials provide
sensitive voter roll data. Warner and Kaine oppose the unprecedented
request that threatens the privacy of millions of Americans and risks
improper removal of eligible voters from voter registration lists in
violation of the National Voter Registration Act. In the letter, the
Senators warn that voting rights are at risk.

“This request is unprecedented in scope and raises serious privacy
concerns. The requested data is highly sensitive and after recent data
breaches and cyber-attacks targeting our election infrastructure, we are
deeply concerned about how the Commission will maintain the security and
privacy of the data,” the Senators wrote. “We are also concerned about why
the Commission is requesting sensitive voting data and how it will be
used. Leaders of the Commission said they intend to compare state voter
information with federal databases in order to prevent voter fraud.
Experts have raised significant concern that false-positive results from
such a cross-check will lead to the improper removal of eligible voters
from voter registration lists. Improperly removing Americans from
registration lists is a violation of the National Voter Registration Act
and will hamper Americans’ right to vote.”

Election officials from more than forty states have shared the Senators’
concerns, including Governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, who refused to
comply with the
request<https://governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/newsarticle?articleId=20595>,
and Republican officials from Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio.

The letter was led by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jack Reed
(D-RI) and also signed by Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Patrick Leahy
(D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal
(D-CT), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen
(D-NH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tom Udall (D-NM), Tom Carper
(D-DE), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen
(D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Patty
Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Tammy
Duckworth (D-IL).

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Pence and Vice-chairman Kobach:

We write with deep concerns regarding the June 28th request by
Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (“the Commission”)
for state election officials to provide sensitive voter roll data and
demand that the Commission rescind its request. If the Commission refuses
to rescind the request, we ask that you provide information about how the
Commission intends to use and protect the data.

In a letter, the Commission requests personal information of American
voters that is generally unavailable to the public, including names,
addresses, dates of birth, political parties, voter histories, and the
last four digits of Americans' social security numbers. This request is
unprecedented in scope and raises serious privacy concerns. The requested
data is highly sensitive and after recent data breaches and cyber-attacks
targeting our election infrastructure, we are deeply concerned about how
the Commission will maintain the security and privacy of the data.

Election officials from more than forty states share our concern,
including Republican officials from Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio.
Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson, a member of the Commission and
the President of the National Association of Secretaries of State, noted
that the Commission’s request conflicts with state laws. Even Vice-chair
Kobach who requested the information indicated that Kansas will not supply
certain information to the Commission.

We are also concerned about why the Commission is requesting sensitive
voting data and how it will be used. Leaders of the Commission said they
intend to compare state voter information with federal databases in order
to prevent voter fraud. Experts have raised significant concern that
false-positive results from such a cross-check will lead to the improper
removal of eligible voters from voter registration lists. Improperly
removing Americans from registration lists is a violation of the National
Voter Registration Act and will hamper Americans’ right to vote.

Also troubling is the Commission’s lack of focus on legitimate threats,
such as foreign cyber-attacks on our election infrastructure.  Therefore,
we demand the Commission rescind its request for sensitive voter roll data
and refrain from requesting such information in the future. If the
Commission refuses to rescind its request, we ask that you provide the
following information in order to ensure that voting rights and the
privacy of millions of Americans are not at risk.

1.     How do you intend to store and protect the data you receive from
state election officials?

2.     Which databases do you intend to use for cross-checking voter data
and how will you work to ensure those databases are current?

3.     What do you intend to do with the information obtained from
cross-checking the data?

4.     What communications have you had with the Department of Justice and
the Department of Homeland Security regarding requests for voter
information? Please provide records and details of any communication.

5.     The Department of Homeland Security is charged with leading federal
efforts to protect national critical infrastructure, including voter
registration databases, against cyber threats. What communications have
you had with the Department of Homeland Security regarding requests for
voter information? Please provide records and details of any
communication.

6.     The Commission’s letter requests election officials send
correspondence and data to
ElectionIntegrityStaff@ovp.eop.gov<mailto:ElectionIntegrityStaff@ovp.eop.gov>.
Who has access to this email account and what is being done to ensure it
is secure? Please provide the names of all staff members who will have
access to the data, including Administration officials and members of the
Commission.

7.     It was recently disclosed that more than 21 states were victims of
attempted election hacks by Russia.  As one of the major issues facing
U.S. democracy today is the protection of our state election systems from
cyber-attacks, why would the Commission think it prudent to collect
state-by-state voter information? One of the best protections we have
against foreign interference is the decentralized nature of our elections.
Why does the Commission think centralizing this data is a good idea?

8.     Much of the data the Commission collects will not be aggregated in
a format ready for data analysis. Does the Commission intend to hire
objective data professionals to manage and standardize the data?

9.     Many states have laws that prevent them from disclosing sensitive
data that the Commission is requesting. Some state elected officials are
particularly concerned about providing social security information. For
example, Vice-chair Kobach has indicated that Kansas will not provide
social security information to the Commission. How does the Commission
plan to proceed if states do not submit the information they have
requested?

We should be working to make it easier for Americans to vote, not harder.
Please provide your responses to these questions in writing by July 12th,
2017<x-apple-data-detectors://5>.  Thank you for your attention to this
matter.