Secretary of State Steve Simon’s office has declined to provide the Department of Justice with a copy of Minnesota’s statewide voter registration list.
A June 25 letter to Simon’s office demanded answers on how Minnesota handles voter registration, voter‑roll maintenance, security protocols, and steps taken to identify and remove noncitizens. The letter from the DOJ’s voting section also asked for Minnesota’s current statewide voter registration list, including both active and inactive voters.
Justin Erickson, general counsel in Simon’s office, responded to the DOJ Friday with an eight-page letter of his own. His letter addressed Minnesota’s compliance with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the state’s “longstanding safeguards that meet or exceed the standards of that act.”
It then concluded by rejecting the DOJ’s request for a copy of the voter registration list, saying it “contains sensitive personal identifying information on several million individuals.”
“The OSS takes seriously its obligations under state and federal law, including HAVA, to protect that data from unauthorized use,” Erickson wrote, according to a copy of the letter published by KSTP.
“As a result, it is the long-standing practice of the OSS not to disclose any information contained on its statewide voter registration list unless expressly required by law.”
Erickson said Simon’s office believes in “accountability and scrutiny,” and is thus cooperating with an Office of the Legislative Auditor review.
“The Department of Justice did not, however, identify any legal basis in its June 25 letter that would entitle it to Minnesota’s voter registration list. Nor did it explain how this information would be used, stored, and secured,” Erickson continued.
“The OSS will require clear legal justification for the data and sufficient information to show that the data will be protected and used properly before it can consider whether it is appropriate to share Minnesota’s voter registration list.”
State Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, criticized Erickson’s response on social media.
How can the data be private if the state has it?
Under what premise is it appropriate for the state to have data, but inappropriate for the DOJ to have it?
This makes no sense.
There’s no benign or innocent explanation for this lack of cooperation. https://t.co/qBPZYP37FP
— Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) July 26, 2025
“Under what premise is it appropriate for the state to have data, but inappropriate for the DOJ to have it? This makes no sense,” he said. “There’s no benign or innocent explanation for this lack of cooperation.”
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Author: Anthony Gockowski
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