| Secretary of State Steve Hobbs responded to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Sep. 8 request for all fields of Washington’s voter registration list by directing his office to provide only the publicly disclosable information permitted under state law, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.
Pursuant to RCWs 29A.08.710 and 29A.08.720 the publicly disclosable fields include information such as the registrant’s name, address, year of birth, and voting history. Protected information, including the last four digits of a Social Security number, a driver’s license number, or a full date of birth, is not subject to public disclosure.
“As Washington state’s chief elections officer, I take my duty to protect voters and the sensitive information they entrust to the state very seriously,” said Secretary Hobbs. “While we will provide the DOJ with the voter registration data that state law already makes public, we will not compromise the privacy of Washington voters by turning over confidential information that both state and federal law prohibit us from disclosing.”
The DOJ letter cites sections of the National Voter Registration Act and Help America Vote Act in their request for confidential data, however nothing in the provisions require that states provide that information.
The request also raises concerns about the DOJ’s shifting explanations for why it seeks this information, including public reporting that the DOJ may use state voter files to build a national database or share records with other agencies for unauthorized purposes. Secretary Hobbs noted that such use could raise significant legal questions under the federal Privacy Act of 1974, which requires strict protections when creating or maintaining federal systems of records.
“Our office is committed to transparency and accountability in elections,” Hobbs said. “But transparency does not mean putting the personal information of every Washington voter at risk. The law is clear, and my responsibility is to the voters of this state.”
A copy of Secretary Hobbs’ letter to the DOJ is available here. |
