#Federal law gives the #DOJ the ability to ensure #states have procedures in place to remove ineligible voters & otherwise properly maintain their rolls. It does not expressly give the agency the authority to review the voter rolls themselves.
States routinely check their rolls to identify people who are ineligible because they are not citizens, have moved to another voting jurisdiction, have been convicted of a felony or have died.
Some information contained in voter rolls — such as names of voters & elections in which they have participated — is commonly available. Other information, such as the last four digits of voters’ #SocialSecurity numbers, is not. Colorado & Florida have provided the #DOJ w/ information from their lists that is generally available to the public, while most other #states said they were reviewing the requests.
Separately, the #DOJ has recently asked some #states for copies of their voter lists. Those inquiries went to a mix of Republican and Democratic-controlled states, including Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma & Wisconsin, according to copies of the letters & information from state #election officials.
Small hung up on a Post reporter Tuesday & did not respond to messages seeking comment. A spokesman for Boebert declined to comment on the outreach to clerks by her former chief of staff. A DHS spox said that the agency works closely w/ others on #election security but that “we don’t disclose every single conversation we have with them.”
Matt Crane, a Republican & the executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said #election ofcls from both parties resist attempts to examine their equipment. “Anybody who is asking for access to the voting machines outside of the law … that automatically raises red flags in terms of their intent,” he said.
#Trump #law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #privacy #dictatorship #autocracy #MafiaState
Steve Schleiker, the Republican clerk of El Paso County, said Small told him he was working with #DOJ & #DHS to team up w/ clerks on #election security. Soon after their conversation, Schleiker said, he got a call from a DHS official who wanted to review his #election equipment.
“We would like to test the voting equipment to see if there’s any gaps,” the official said, according to Schleiker.
And last week, Small contacted clerks, claiming to have ties to #Trump. “I am reaching out on a timely election integrity project I’m working with the White House on & was hoping to chat,” read one text message from Small to a county clerk. A message to another clerk said the outreach “is from #StephenMiller,” the White House deputy chief of staff.
#Election officials have been on edge in #Colorado since 2020, partly because of Tina Peters, a former Mesa County clerk & Republican who was sentenced to 9 years in prison last year over a scheme to let an outsider into secure areas of her office to copy election data. This spring, the #DOJ made an unusual move to assist Peters with her appeal, further worrying election officials.
In several #states, it asked detailed questions about the process to remove #noncitizens & other *ineligible* #voters from the rolls.
Grantham, the Fremont County clerk, said Small asked him if he would allow a third party to review whether his voting machines complied with #federal law. Grantham declined the request, he said, citing #state laws that restrict access to voting machines.
“President #Trump & his allies are trying to lay the groundwork to interfere with a free & fair election in 2026,” said Samantha Tarazi, CEO of the nonpartisan #VotingRights Lab.
The #DOJ’s outreach has differed from state to state, acc/to agency letters & emails. In #Colorado, it made a sweeping request for “all records” related to its #election. In #Alaska, it questioned why no voters had been removed from the rolls for *mental incompetence*.
In a Saturday social media post, #Trump made clear he remains focused on #election policies & his 2020 lies, writing that AG #PamBondi is looking into “The Rigged & Stolen Election of 2020.” His admin’s latest push for #voting #data comes a year & a half before the midterms, when #Democrats hope to take control of the #House, chip away at the Republican majority in the #Senate & win more governorships.
“To me, it felt like they were wanting to intervene before 2026,” said Justin Grantham, the #Republican clerk in Fremont County.
5 other Republican clerks raised similar concerns.
“That’s a hard stop for me,” said Carly Koppes, a Republican clerk in Weld County, who said she rejected Small’s overtures to allow a federal inspection. “Nobody gets access to my voting equipment, for security reasons.”
Republican #election ofcls in #Colorado fielded calls & messages last week from Small, a consultant who has worked for members of #Congress, most recently serving as chief of staff to Rep #LaurenBoebert (R-CO). Small told more than half a dozen GOP county clerks by phone or text that he was working with the #Trump admin to ensure the integrity of #elections & to advance Trump’s election agenda, county officials told WaPo.
A #DOJ spox declined to comment on the activities. The White House did not answer questions about whether it was working with Jeff Small, the operative who has been contacting #Colorado clerks, but said the president is committed to helping states ensure voters on the rolls are *citizens* [#Republicans].
#Trump #law #ElectionLaw #ElectionInterference #privacy #dictatorship #tyranny #autocracy #MafiaState
“This is an extraordinary imposition of #federal power over #states’ #election processes that, if it is accepted by the states in this context, will be absolutely used by Democrats in another context,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, who worked in the #DOJ’s voting section under Presidents Bill Clinton & George W. Bush.
Under the #Constitution, #states are responsible for running #elections, & the #FederalGovernment plays a limited role — such as by dictating when states must offer opportunities to register to vote — that must be spelled out by #Congress. Election ofcls fear the admin could try to build a national file that includes personal info about voters or impose rules that would boot eligible voters from the rolls & make it harder to cast ballots.
Federal agencies have long offered technical assistance & #cybersecurity advice to election officials but have not examined their equipment because election laws tightly limit who has access.
Separately, the #DOJ has taken the unusual step of asking at least 9 states for copies of their voter rolls, & at least 2 have turned them over, according to state officials.
The most unusual activity is happening in #Colorado — a state that then-candidate #Trump lost by 11 points — where a well-connected consultant who says he is working with the White House is asking county clerks whether they will allow the federal government or a third party to physically examine their election equipment.
The #Trump admin & its allies have launched a multipronged effort to gather data on #voters & inspect #voting equipment, sparking concern among local & state #election officials about federal #interference ahead of the 2026 midterms.
