WASHINGTON — Minnesota’s Republican Congressional delegation introduced legislation Monday, Feb. 2, that aims to compel the state to give voter data to the federal government.
The Minnesota Voter Integrity Act of 2026 prohibits the state from receiving federal election assistance funds from the Help America Vote Act until the secretary of state shares records requested by the Department of Justice.
Eighth District Rep. Pete Stauber of Hermantown introduced the short act, along with Reps. Michelle Fischbach, 7th District-Regal; Brad Finstad, 1st District-New Ulm; and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, 6th District-Delano.
A news release from Stauber’s office points to a Jan. 2 letter from the Department of Justice, requesting records from the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, including those related to same-day voter registration and internet data the office collects when voters register online.
The DOJ claimed it needs the data to confirm Minnesota is complying with federal voting laws.
“Minnesotans deserve to know their election process is fair, accurate, and protected for the future,” Stauber stated in the release. “Unfortunately, the Secretary of State’s office — with the support of Governor [Tim] Walz — is so far refusing to provide the DOJ with voter registration and election data to verify its integrity. If Governor Walz and Secretary [Steve] Simon want federal election assistance funding, they need to get serious about election security.”
In a statement Monday, Secretary of State Steve Simon said sharing Minnesota voters’ private information with the DOJ would violate state and federal law.
“The proposed legislation is an irresponsible stunt,” Simon stated. “It would actively damage the security of our elections by threatening to starve Minnesota of critical federal funds that help protect our election infrastructure from harm or attack.”
Help America Vote Act funding supports election cybersecurity, Simon explained.
The January request is not the federal government’s first ask for Minnesota voter data. The requests started last July when the DOJ asked for Minnesota’s voter registration list.
More recently, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote a letter tying the data requests to the Twin Cities immigration enforcement campaign.
Simon and others have pointed out that the federal government has not explained further how the data would be used. The unusual requests come as President Donald Trump continues to claim there is widespread election fraud — a claim that has been repeatedly debunked — and suggests the federal government should have more control over elections. The Constitution dictates that states determine the time, place and manner of elections.
The University of Wisconsin Law School’s State Democracy Research Initiative is tracking dozens of lawsuits related to the federal government's demands for state voter data.
At least 40 states have received similar requests, according to Simon and the University of Wisconsin.
“Consistent with the law, we declined to turn over the data. Minnesota is one of 32 states that have rebuffed the DOJ demand,” Simon stated Monday.
“ ... In none of the 32 states that have declined to share sensitive data with the DOJ have members of Congress threatened to starve their own state of election security resources because they disagree with the legal position of the Secretary of State in a lawsuit.”
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