In June, the U.S. Department of Justice sent letters to state election officials seeking their voter registration lists. Wyoming was the first state to comply, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Neither the federal government’s requests, nor targeted states’ responses received much attention at the time. That changed last month when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi asked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to hand over voters’ private data to the federal government. That request came after federal immigration agents shot and killed a second American citizen in Minneapolis. Quickly, the federal government’s efforts to obtain states’ voter rolls drew national attention. In Wyoming, Democrats and the League of Women Voters soon criticized Secretary of State Chuck Gray for the decision he’d made months earlier, when, following negotiations, his office provided Wyoming’s statewide voter registration list, including sensitive information like driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.  “The League knows that voter privacy is paramount to the integrity of our election system,” the group said in a statement. “Secretary Gray’s action undermines public confidence in our election process.” Gray responded this week in a written statement, released by his office, saying he complied with a lawful request after consulting with the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office. “Contrary to the false claims made by both the Wyoming Democrats and the League of Women Voters, voter information has, and continues to remain, confidential under the law,” the Monday statement read. “As Wyoming’s chief election official, I take my duty to ensure compliance with the law very seriously.” Secretary of State Chuck Gray listens to testimony at the House Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee on Jan. 15, 2025. (Mike Vanata for WyoFile) The Justice Department’s initial June request, signed by Maureen Riordan, acting Chief of the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section, asked Gray to “Please send us Wyoming’s current statewide voter registration list. Please include both active and inactive voters.” Two months later, Gray provided Wyoming’s statewide voter registration list, including information like driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.  “With your assurances that the federal privacy protections … apply to these records, we anticipate that the Department of Justice will maintain the confidentiality of these records in accordance with Wyoming law,” Gray wrote in an Aug. 28 letter.  The Justice Department has demanded nearly every state provide election-related records as part of an effort to build the largest set of national voter roll data ever collected by the agency. The Trump administration has argued its efforts are intended to keep elections secure and that it has the authority to do so under The Civil Rights Act, the National Voting Rights Act, and the Help American Vote Act.  Critics, however, say the move amounts to government overreach, noting that the U.S. Constitution explicitly tasks states, not the federal government, with conducting elections.  Most states have responded to the unconventional request by either providing publicly available versions of their voter registration lists — i.e. data sets without sensitive information — or altogether declining to provide lists, according to the Brennan Center, which has been tracking states’ responses.  Last month, Democratic-led Colorado became one the latest states to face a federal lawsuit for refusing to hand over its voter data.  About two dozen states are defending themselves from such legal challenges, prompting an unprecedented legal clash between the Justice Department and state election officials, according to Politico. At least one of those legal challenges has been dismissed.  States’ compliance, or lack thereof, has not been determined strictly by party affiliation. Utah and Idaho, two Republican-led states, for example, are now in standoffs with the federal government.  Wyoming is one of at least 11 states to fully comply and was the first state to do so, according to the Brennan Center’s tracker.  Voters line up at an Albany County polling station in the Spring Creek Elementary gym, waiting to cast their ballots in the 2024 general election. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile) Over the weekend, the League of Women Voters of Wyoming criticized Gray’s decision “to surrender Wyoming citizens’ private voter information to the federal government,” in a press release.  “The safest way to protect sensitive data is to limit access to it, ensuring only those who absolutely need it can access it. States have private, individual voter rolls for a reason,” the League wrote. “There was no reason to hand over Wyoming voters’ private information to the federal government.” Gray’s action, the League said, “compromises the diligent work of our county clerks who securely maintain Wyoming voter rolls.”  The League also called on Gov. Mark Gordon to “instruct Attorney General Kautz to examine the authority of the Wyoming Secretary of State, by statute, rule and regulation, and to issue an opinion on Secretary Gray’s actions.”  The Wyoming Democratic Party also criticized Gray over the weekend. The secretary of state’s office responded Monday morning. The agency made the decision “in close consultation with the Wyoming Attorney General and the Wyoming Attorney General’s office,” Gray said in a Monday statement.  “I complied with a lawful request from a federal law enforcement agency charged with enforcing voting rights, to ensure Wyoming’s voter rolls were compliant with the Help American Vote Act and the Civil Rights Act,” Gray said.  “The Democrats’ false claims are driven by Trump Derangement Syndrome and left-wing hysteria, not the truth. These claims are false, defamatory, and made with malice,” Gray said.  Timeline A month after the Justice Department’s June 25 letter, Gray’s office sent a 15-page response, answering various questions about Wyoming’s election processes and procedures. Gray also directly responded to the federal government’s request for the state’s voter rolls.  First, Gray described how state law defines Wyoming’s voter registration, as “the list by precinct of the names, addresses, party affiliations, unique identifying numbers generated by the state, information relating to absentee ballot status, registration dates and precinct and district numbers of the registered electors in the county prepared by the secretary of state or county clerks for distribution.” Gray also pointed to state law that “outlines the process of exporting registry lists upon request to eligible recipients” and specifies “that unless otherwise provided, all election records of the county clerk are public and shall be made in accordance with the Wyoming Public Records Act.” In accordance with the law, Gray wrote in the letter, “our office has furnished previously exported registry lists and history files upon receipt of a public records request, and has routinely provided previously exported lists when requested.” A voter registry list was exported on July 10, Gray wrote, and was subsequently shared with the Justice Department file sharing system.  However, that did not meet the Justice Department’s demands, according to an Aug. 14 letter to Gray.  “We have received Wyoming’s statewide voter registration list (“VRL”),” the letter states. “However, as the Attorney General requested, the electronic copy of the statewide VRL must contain all fields, including the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number of the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number.” (Emphasis in the letter.) The Justice Department requested Gray provide that information within seven days. Two weeks later, Gray complied, according to an Aug. 28 letter.  “Upon review of the provisions cited in your letter, and discussion of the applicable provisions of the Civil Rights Act with the Wyoming Attorney General, we agree that disclosure of the requested records is proper under the Civil Rights Act,” Gray wrote. “With your assurances that the federal privacy protections, including the application of Section 304 of the Civil Rights Act, apply to these records, we anticipate that the Department of Justice will maintain the confidentiality of these records in accordance with Wyoming law.” Wyoming state law specifies “election records containing social security numbers, portions of social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, birth dates, telephone numbers, tribal identification card numbers, e-mail address and other personally identifiable information other than names, gender, address, unique identifying numbers generated by the state and party affiliations are not public records and shall be kept confidential.” The governor’s office did not respond to WyoFile’s request for comment by publishing time.  The post Gray defends decision to share sensitive Wyoming voter data with feds as voter group, Dems criticize move appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less