JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PRESSES ILLINOIS FOR FULL VOTER REGISTRATION DATABASE

Federal officials are giving Illinois until Monday, September 1st, to hand over its complete, unredacted voter registration database, including sensitive personal information, as part of a Justice Department inquiry.
In an August 21st email, Michael E. Gates of the Civil Rights Division rejected the Illinois State Board of Elections’ request for more time, saying the database “already exists and can be easily transmitted.”
The Justice Department said it needs the full records to determine whether Illinois is complying with the National Voter Registration Act, which requires states to keep voter rolls accurate and up to date. DOJ is also seeking information on how many voters have been purged due to death, felony convictions, incompetency rulings, or noncitizen status, as well as a list of officials responsible for voter list maintenance since the 2022 elections.
The elections board responded earlier this month with a version of the database allowed by state law, which includes voters’ names, addresses, voting history, and registration dates. Sensitive data such as birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security digits were withheld, citing the federal Privacy Act and Illinois’ own privacy protection laws.
But DOJ has insisted that withholding that information is insufficient, saying federal law requires the full, unredacted list.
It remains unclear why the department says it needs voters’ most sensitive personal identifiers to investigate Illinois’ compliance.