08-14-25 Letter From U.S. DOJ
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KGW News08-14-25 Letter From U.S. DOJ
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KGW NewsU.S.
Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Office of the Assistant Attorney General Washington, D.C. 20530
August 14, 2025
Via Mail and Email
The Honorable Tobias Read
Secretary of State
900 Court Street NE, Capitol Room 136
Salem, OR 97301
[email protected]
Re: Complete Oregon’s Voter Registration List with All Fields
Secretary Read:
We understand that the time the Justice Department has provided your state to respond to the
request for a statewide voter registration list (“VRL”) and other information has not reached its
deadline.
Given responses from other states thus far, we want to clarify that the Justice Department’s
request to provide an electronic copy of the statewide VRL should contain all fields, which means,
your state’s VRL must include the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her
state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number as
required under the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”)1 to register individuals for federal elections.
See 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(5)(A)(i).
We have requested Oregon’s VRL to assess your state’s compliance with the statewide VRL
maintenance provisions of the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20501, et seq.
Our request is pursuant to the Attorney General’s authority under Section 11 of the NVRA to bring
enforcement actions. See 52 U.S.C. § 20501(a).
The Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”), 52 U.S.C. § 20501, et seq., also provides authority
for the Justice Department to seek the State’s VRL via Section 401, which makes the Attorney
1In charging the Attorney General with enforcement of the voter registration list requirements in the HAVA
and in the NVRA, Congress plainly intended that DOJ be able to conduct an independent review of each
state’s list. Any statewide prohibitions are clearly preempted by federal law.
General solely responsible for actions to enforce HAVA’s computerized statewide voter registration
list requirements. See 52 U.S.C. § 21111; see also Brunner v. Ohio Republican Party, 555 U.S. 5, 6
(2008) (per curiam) (finding there is no private right of action to enforce those requirements in
HAVA).
In addition to those authorities, the Attorney General is also empowered by Congress to
request records pursuant to Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (“CRA”), codified at 52 U.S.C.
§ 20701, et seq. Section 301 of the CRA requires state and local officials to retain and preserve
records related to voter registration and other acts requisite to voting for any federal office for a period
of 22 months after any federal general, special or primary election. See 52 U.S.C. § 20701.
Section 303 of the CRA provides, in pertinent part, “Any record or paper required by section
20701 of this title to be retained and preserved shall, upon demand in writing by the Attorney General
or his representative directed to the person having custody, possession, or control of such record or
paper, be made available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the principal office of such
custodian by the Attorney General or his representative…” 52 U.S.C. § 20703.
Pursuant to the foregoing authorities, including the CRA, the Attorney General is demanding
an electronic copy of Oregon’s complete and current VRL. The purpose of the request is to ascertain
Oregon’s compliance with the list maintenance requirements of the NVRA and HAVA.
When providing the electronic copy of the statewide VRL, Oregon must ensure that it contains
all fields, which includes either the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her
state driver’s license number, or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number as
required under the Help America Vote Act (“HAVA”)2 to register individuals for federal elections.
See 52 U.S.C. § 21083(a)(5)(A)(i).
To the extent there are privacy concerns, the voter registration list is subject to federal privacy
protections. Section 304 of the CRA provides the answer:
Unless otherwise ordered by a court of the United States, neither the Attorney General nor
any employee of the Department of Justice, nor any other representative of the Attorney
General, shall disclose any record or paper produced pursuant to this chapter, or any
reproduction or copy, except to Congress and any committee thereof, governmental agencies,
and in the presentation of any case or proceeding before any court or grand jury.
HAVA specifies that the “last 4 digits of a social security number . . . shall not be considered
a social security number for purposes of section 7 of the Privacy Act of 1974” (5 U.S.C. § 552a note);
52 U.S.C. § 21083(c). In addition, any prohibition of disclosure of a motor vehicle record contained
in the Driver’s License Protection Act, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2721(b)(1), is exempted when the
disclosure is for use by a government agency in carrying out the government agency’s function to
2 In charging the Attorney General with enforcement of the voter registration list requirements in HAVA and
in the NVRA, Congress plainly intended that DOJ be able to conduct an independent review of each state’s
list. Any statewide prohibitions are clearly preempted by federal law.
accomplish its enforcement authority as the Justice Department is now doing. That said, all data
received from you will be kept securely and treated consistently with the Privacy Act.
To that end, please provide the requested electronic Voter Registration List 3 to the Justice
Department by the date set for your delivery by our original letter, or by August 21, 2025, whichever
is later.
The information and materials may be sent by encrypted email to [email protected]
or via the Department’s secure file-sharing system, Justice Enterprise File Sharing (“JEFS”). Should
further clarification be required, please contact Maureen Riordan at [email protected].
Regards,
Harmeet K. Dhillon
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division
cc: Dena Dawson
Elections Director
Public Service Building, Suite 126
255 Capitol St. NE
Salem, OR 97310
[email protected]
3Containing all fields, which includes either the registrant’s full name, date of birth, residential address, his or
her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s social security number as required by
HAVA.
