Brown, Morelle, and Ohio Democrats Demand Answers from Ohio Secretary of State on Voter File Handover to Trump Administration

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Congressman Joe Morelle (NY-25),Ranking Member on the Committee on House Administration have led a letter signed by all Democratic Members of the Ohio House Delegation demanding answers regarding Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s decision to turn over sensitive voter information to the Trump Administration earlier this year. 

The Brown-Morelle letter was also signed by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Congresswoman Emilia Sykes (OH-13), and Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01). The Committee on House Administration has jurisdiction over federal elections. 

In response to Ohio sending the Trump Administration sensitive personal information for nearly eight million Ohio voters, the members write, “Election officials in both Republican- and Democratic-led states have rightfully met these demands with warranted skepticism, and most states have declined these demands in order to protect their voters. Moreover, federal courts have repeatedly ruled that the DOJ has no right to demand this information or states’ complete voter registration lists. Transferring this data goes far beyond publicly available information and exposes Ohioans to unnecessary risks, including misuse, unauthorized access, leaks, and identity theft, without any clear safeguards or accountability.” 

Brown, Morelle, and the rest of the Ohio Democratic Delegation have requested all correspondence regarding this decision, a full disclosure of what was shared, and what steps the State has taken to protect this sensitive information, which could include Social Security Numbers and other personal information. 

The text of the letter is copied below: 

The Honorable Frank LaRose

Ohio Secretary of State

180 Civic Center Drive 

Columbus, OH 43215

Dear Secretary LaRose,

We write to express serious concern about and strong opposition to your recent decision to provide the sensitive voter information of nearly eight million Ohioans to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). This action raises profound legal and civil liberty concerns, particularly given the breadth of information requested, the lack of transparency around its intended use, and the broader effort by the Trump Administration to nationalize elections and weaponize sensitive voter data. 

Last year, the DOJ began demanding states turn over complete and unredacted voter files. The information requested included highly sensitive information such as driver’s license and Social Security numbers.[1]Election officials in both Republican- and Democratic-led states have rightfully met these demands with warranted skepticism, and most states have declined these demands in order to protect their voters. Moreover, federal courts have repeatedly ruled that the DOJ has no right to demand this information or states’ complete voter registration lists.[2] Transferring this data goes far beyond publicly available information and exposes Ohioans to unnecessary risks, including misuse, unauthorized access, leaks, and identity theft, without any clear safeguards or accountability.

Compounding this risk, the DOJ has announced its intention to share sensitive voter information it receives with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to run voter information through its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, system.[3] The SAVE system was initially designed for states to verify citizenship and immigration status for individuals applying for government benefits, not for voter eligibility verification. Civil rights experts and organizations have warned that repurposing this system in an election context significantly heightens the risk of erroneous matches and wrongful purges of eligible voters.[4]

In your February letter to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, you indicated that you are working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USICS) to develop and deploy SAVE’s search capability. Ohioans deserve to know that their personal information will not be repurposed in ways that could jeopardize their fundamental right to vote. This is especially true given documented instances of eligible citizens being wrongly removed from voter rolls.[5]

These concerns are not theoretical. Recent reporting indicates that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reached out to six Ohio counties requesting sensitive information on several voters under the pretext of investigating election fraud.[6] In Franklin County alone, DHS reportedly requested voter information for dozens of voters.[7] This pattern suggests an expanding effort to access and aggregate sensitive voter data with little transparency and no apparent basis in law.

Your decision to hand over such sensitive data to federal agencies without apparent legal authority, transparency, or safeguards is deeply concerning. You have a duty to Ohioans to ensure their personal information—and their right to vote—will be protected, not placed at risk. 

To this end, we request the following documents and information not later than May 29, 2026:

1.    All correspondence between you or your office and the DOJ regarding requests for, or transfers of, voter data beginning January 20, 2025.

2.    Any final legal analyses, memoranda, or opinions—including any internal or external correspondence—informing your determination to turn over voter data to the federal government.

3.    Detailed description of all data shared, including whether driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and any other sensitive information were shared with DOJ.

4.    All communications between you or your office and DHS, USCIS regarding the use of voter data with the SAVE system and any plan to ensure that Ohio data voter information is kept secure.

5.    Assessments conducted, if any, by your office regarding the accuracy, reliability, and appropriateness of using SAVE for voter verification purposes. 

6.    A detailed description of the oversight mechanisms your office has in place to ensure this data is not used for purposes unrelated to election administration.

Sincerely,

 [Signatures]

[1] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/tracker-justice-department-requests-voter-information

[2] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/federal-courts-reject-trump-administrations-attempts-obtain-private-voter

[3] https://www.npr.org/2026/03/27/nx-s1-5764266/voter-data-trump-doj-dhs

[4] https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-data-grab-getting-citizens-kicked-off-voter-rolls/

[5] https://www.wired.com/story/dhs-data-grab-getting-citizens-kicked-off-voter-rolls/

[6] https://www.reuters.com/investigations/how-trump-is-moving-control-us-elections-one-state-time-2026-04-27/

[7] https://www.reuters.com/investigations/how-trump-is-moving-control-us-elections-one-state-time-2026-04-27/

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