Murphy: Time for Guadagno to Take Firm Stand on Trump-Kobach Attempt to Get Voter Data
In a letter sent to Guadagno’s office, Murphy called on her to make clear her opposition to the state handing voter data to the Trump administration. Guadagno has refused to take a firm stance, claiming that she has recused herself from day-to-day operations at the Division of Elections. The “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity,” led by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach — who has a history of voter suppression in his state — has said it would make any voter data it receives publicly available.
“As New Jersey’s Secretary of State, you are entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding New Jersey’s elections and handling some of our residents’ most sensitive information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and social security numbers,” Murphy wrote. “The Trump administration is trying to obtain that information to further a political agenda, and your office has not clearly indicated whether it will comply with this intrusive and dangerous request. I urge your office to take a firm stand for the privacy of New Jersey’s voters and require the commission to abide by the normal processes for requesting voter information.”
Under state statute, limited voter information may be released to individuals who make formal requests, and election officials in each county are empowered to charge requestors up to $375 in fees to recoup administrative costs. Under the law, there is no mention of the state being able to simply hand over the entire list of New Jersey voters to the federal government.
“New Jersey is under no obligation to provide special access to its voter lists to the federal government,” Murphy wrote. He said the statute governing release of voter data “exists for a reason, and it ensures that sensitive personal information – including social security numbers – cannot be disseminated.”
Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush, argued against the federal compilation of voting data, saying it “would be attractive not only to adversaries seeking to affect voting but to criminals who could use the identifying information as a wedge into identity theft.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno
New Jersey Department of State
P.O. Box 300
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Lieutenant Governor Guadagno:
I write in my capacity as a concerned citizen of the state of New Jersey regarding your response to the request for sensitive voter data from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which was formed by President Donald Trump’s issuance of Executive Order 13799. The Christie-Guadagno administration has sole authority in determining whether to comply with the President’s executive order. Though you claim to have recused yourself from overseeing the Division of Elections, Governor Christie and you remain the ultimate decision-makers with respect to any decision made by New Jersey’s executive branch, including this one.
As New Jersey’s Secretary of State, you are entrusted with the responsibility of safeguarding New Jersey’s elections and handling some of our residents’ most sensitive information, including names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and social security numbers. The Trump administration is trying to obtain that information to further a political agenda, and your office has not clearly indicated whether it will comply with this intrusive and dangerous request. I urge your office to take a firm stand for the privacy of New Jersey’s voters and require the commission to abide by the normal processes for requesting voter information.
The facts are clear. The assertion that there is widespread voter fraud is a myth that has been debunked time and time again. A comprehensive study done by the Washington Post found a mere 31 credible instances of voter impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of over 1 billion votes cast. No serious study has ever found results to the contrary. In light of this evidence, President Trump’s insistence that voter fraud played a major role in last year’s election indicates nothing more than his own fundamental inability to accept the fact that he decisively lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton.
More disturbing than President Trump’s insecurity is the method by which his administration has chosen to investigate this phantom issue. The “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity” is led by Kris Kobach, a far-right politician who has repeatedly questioned President Obama’s citizenship. And instead of confronting real threats to our democracy, such as voter suppression laws and Russia’s interference in last year’s presidential election, this commission has set its sights on obtaining the personal data of hundreds of millions of American voters.
Fortunately, a number of states, including our neighbors in New York and Delaware, have refused to comply with this request. New Jersey is under no obligation to provide special access to its voter lists to the federal government. I urge you to similarly reject this request outright.
This is a time of great uncertainty in our nation. As one of the most diverse states in the country, New Jersey is home to a number of communities that feel personally targeted by the Trump administration. They fear, with good reason, that these types of probes could set the stage for further laws designed to suppress the vote. And every New Jerseyan deserves the peace of mind of knowing that his or her personal information will be protected by the public officials who oversee our elections.
You swore an oath to serve the people of our state, and they are waiting for you to unequivocally speak out against this intrusive request from the Trump administration. It is time for your office to put the interests of New Jerseyans first. I call on you to do so.
Respectfully,
Philip D. Murphy
