Photo: Tetra images RF
The Department of Justice has reportedly launched a "multi-pronged effort" to gather information on voter rolls in several states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, per the Washington Post.
In an email sent by the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, Paul Hayden and Scott Laragy of the Justice Department requested a meeting "to discuss a potential information-sharing agreement," according to officials in Rhode Island.
The DOJ further stated in the email, which carried the subject line "Executive Order Implementation," that it was seeking "information on, among other things, individuals who have registered to vote or have voted in your state despite being ineligible to vote, who may have committed other forms of election fraud, who may have provided false information to state authorities ... or who may otherwise have engaged in unlawful conduct relevant to the election process."
"With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections,'' the email said, referencing Trump's executive order titled "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections."
According to the Washington Post, the Trump administration and its allies have launched election data collection efforts in at least 9 states across the country.
"Unusual activity is happening in Colorado – a state that then-candidate Donald Trump lost by 11 points – where a well-connected consultant who says he is working with the White House is asking county clerks whether they will allow the federal government or a third party to physically examine their election equipment," the Post reports.
In a statement, Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore called potential election data collection a "highly unusual request."
"This is a highly unusual request as the states are constitutionally empowered to manage all aspects of elections that are not otherwise mandated by federal law," Amore said.
"It appears this is a continued attempt to promote the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen and to undermine confidence in our elections – pretty consistent playbook from the Trump people," he added.
Amore noted that the DOJ has thus far only requested a meeting on the matter, which Rhode Island hasn't accepted yet.
“We received one inquiry from DOJ requesting a meeting to discuss our process around voter list maintenance, and systems in place to remove voters from our list," Amore said. "We have not [yet] been asked for data."
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