New Hampshire election officials are again denying a request by the Trump administration to turn over sensitive voter information, despite repeated demands and a deadline imposed by federal officials.
On Thursday, New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan notified the U.S Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division that he would not comply with the federal government’s demand to share a copy of the state’s voter registration list. Scanlan said that there is no federal law that requires the state to do so, and noted that “New Hampshire law prohibits the sharing of this information with the U.S. Department of Justice in the manner you request.”
The back-and-forth between the state and federal governments began in June, when Trump administration officials sent requests for voter files to at least nine states, many of them considered swing states in upcoming elections. The demand for the information comes as Trump continues to make unverified claims about election integrity and the results of the 2020 election. It isn’t clear exactly why the federal government is seeking this information now, however.
After New Hampshire officials rebuffed the initial request, federal officials again attempted to compel the state to turn over the materials in a letter dated August 18. Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general for the federal Department of Justice, gave Scanlan seven days to comply, writing that “to the extent that you claim state law prohibits you from providing this information, that is incorrect.”
Dhillon specifically requested names, dates of birth, addresses, as well as the last four numbers of each registrant’s Social Security number and their full driver’s license number, for both active and inactive New Hampshire voters.
Under New Hampshire law, some voter information – including the names, addresses and party affiliation for active voters – is already public and accessible at local town and city clerks' offices. In addition, the state makes available for purchase to political committees statewide voter lists, though those records do not include voters’ dates of birth, any portion of their Social Security numbers, or driver’s license numbers.
New Hampshire law prohibits disclosing information contained in its statewide voter database except for the preparation of jury duty lists.
In his response Thursday, Scanlan told the federal government that it can obtain each municipality’s public voter checklist, or that his office would be willing to provide the marked checklists from the 2024 elections, which contain the names of all voters who were registered, and if they requested a ballot. That information, Scanlan noted, is also already public.
Federal officials did not respond to a request for comment.
States including Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Maine and Wisconsin have also received similar requests from the Trump administration about their voting systems, according to published reports.
Shenna Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State, reacted coldly to the request, telling the federal government it could “go jump in the Gulf of Maine.”
Rep. Ross Berry, a Republican from Weare who chairs the House Election Law Committee, said Scanlan should continue to follow New Hampshire law and reject any requests from the federal government.
“Elections are supposed to be run by the state,” Berry said. He added that “it’s Trump’s DOJ today, and Gavin Newsom’s tomorrow.”
Earlier this year, a federal judge did order Scanlan to share portions of the confidential voter database with plaintiffs in a lawsuit. The ACLU is challenging the constitutionality of a voter registration law passed in 2024, and requested access to the database in an effort to determine how many people may be impacted by the new policies. State officials pointed to the law and said it considered any disclosure of the file as too great a security risk, but the court ruled that federal court procedures preempt any state laws, and that the database could be shared under strict security protocols.
