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Source: Fox News
Summary
The State Department is considering granting state and local officials access to federal passport records to verify voters’ citizenship ahead of the November midterm elections. The plan aims to ensure registered voters are U.S. citizens while protecting data and preventing fraud. The Justice Department disclosed the initiative in a court filing, stating federal officials plan to use passport records to identify noncitizens on voter rolls. The State Department will publish a notice in the Federal Register proposing to share information with other federal agencies and nonprofit groups. The 1974 Privacy Act requires public notice for new “routine uses” of federal records.
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As expected, the matter has reached another stage.
State Department officials meet in a room with whiteboards and coffee cups.
They talk about sharing passport data with local officials and nonprofits.
They mention the Privacy Act and the Federal Register like it’s a checklist.
It feels like a meeting that happens every election cycle.
Author: Evan Null
State Department Considers Voter Citizenship Checks
The State Department is evaluating how to give state and local officials access to federal passport records to confirm voters’ citizenship status before the November midterm elections. This comes as part of an initiative to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote. The department is considering sharing passport information with state and local officials, as well as some nonprofit groups, as part of the effort. A department spokesperson said the goal is to protect Americans’ data, prevent fraud, and support the integrity of U.S. citizenship.
Justice Department Discloses Plan in Court Filing
The Justice Department revealed the plan in a court filing last week, stating that federal officials intend to use passport records to identify potential noncitizens on voter registration rolls. The filing also mentioned that the State Department will publish a notice in the Federal Register proposing to share information from the Passport Services Records system with other federal agencies. This notice would allow information sharing with various entities using federal government verification platforms for purposes like verifying identity or citizenship.
1974 Privacy Act Requires Public Notice
The 1974 Privacy Act mandates that the federal government provide public notice when establishing a new “routine use” for records in a federal records system. The DOJ filing stated that the notice could be published in the Federal Register as early as October 22. This step is necessary to comply with the law and ensure transparency in how federal records are used. The filing was submitted in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee against President Trump over his executive order on mail voting.
Supreme Court Allows Citizenship Data Sharing
The filing came just days before a 6-3 Supreme Court decision that allowed the Department of Homeland Security to share citizenship information so local governments can verify whether registered voters are U.S. citizens. This ruling supports the administration’s efforts to use federal records to check voter eligibility. The Supreme Court also recently blocked the U.S. Postal Service from implementing parts of Trump’s executive order on mail voting, though some provisions remain in effect.
Previous Efforts Faced Legal Challenges
Earlier attempts by the administration to use federal records to verify voter eligibility primarily relied on data from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. However, several of these efforts were halted by successful court challenges. The current filing was submitted in a case brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and other Democratic plaintiffs challenging Trump’s executive order on mail voting. The Supreme Court declined to lift a lower-court injunction blocking the U.S. Postal Service from adopting its final mail-ballot rule for the November elections.
