* From last month…

Federal officials are continuing to press their demand for Illinois’ unredacted voter registration database, which includes sensitive personal information, and are now giving state officials until Monday, Sept. 1, to comply. […]

DOJ wrote on Aug. 14 the state’s response was insufficient and insisted on access to the entire, unredacted database, “including 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”) to register individuals for federal elections.”

* Excerpt from the reply sent by the Illinois State Board of Illinois today…

Thank you for your emails dated August 21 and 22, 2025, and for granting an extension to respond to your August 14, 2025 letter. On August 11, 2025, we transmitted an electronic copy of Illinois’ voter registration list (VRL) pursuant to Section 8(i) of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i), excluding social security and driver’s license numbers.1 We understand that the Department of Justice’s (Department) August 14, 2025 letter seeks an electronic copy of Illinois’ unredacted voter list, including sensitive personal information of Illinois residents, such as social security numbers and driver’s license numbers, pursuant to Section 8(i) of the NVRA, as well as Sections 301 and 303 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (CRA), 52 U.S.C. §§ 20701, 20703, and Section 401 of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), 52 U.S.C. § 21111. This request implicates state and federal law as well as Illinoisans’ interests in exercising their right to vote without risking the privacy of their personal information.

As a state agency, the Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) has a duty to abide by all state and federal laws governing the protection of sensitive personal information. Accordingly, SBE is prohibited from disclosing its voters’ social security numbers unless “(i) required to do so under State or federal law”; “(ii) the need and purpose for the social security number is documented before collection of the social security number; and (iii) the social security number collected is relevant to the documented need and purpose.” 5 ILCS 179/10(b)(1) (emphasis added). Separately, Illinois law also mandates that SBE notify voters if their social security number or driver’s license number is subject to “unauthorized acquisition . . . that compromises the security, confidentiality, or integrity” of this information. 815 ILCS 530/5. Finally, Illinois law strictly controls access to Illinois’ VRL: SBE may disclose a version of the VRL with limited redactions only to government entities for government purposes and to a state or local political committee (which we have done here). 10 ILCS 5/1A-25(b). The only version of the VRL that may be disclosed to the public must further redact personal information such as telephone numbers, street numbers of home addresses, and identifiable portions of email addresses. Id. 1A-25(c). This information can only be used “for the purposes defined within” the NVRA. Id. (citing 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)).

SBE is also, of course, bound to follow federal law, including applicable provisions cited in your August 14, 2025 letter. However, we are unaware of any authority suggesting that these federal provisions conflict with Illinois law in a manner that would compel disclosures that are otherwise impermissible under state law. […]

To support its request for the unredacted VRL, the Department’s letter relies on 52 U.S.C. § 20510(a), but that provision does not contain document production requirements. If the Department is aware of authority requiring pre-litigation production of records pursuant to this provision, we would appreciate the opportunity to review.

While SBE respects and shares the Department’s commitment to assessing Illinois’ compliance with the NVRA, we remain concerned about the scope of and authority for the Department’s request, given that the NVRA permits redaction of sensitive personal information. We take Illinoisans’ privacy very seriously; data breaches and hacking are unfortunately common, and the disclosure of sensitive information contrary to state law would expose our residents to undue risk. Nonetheless, and as always, we remain committed to partnership with the federal government wherever possible. If there is any additional information the Department can provide regarding authority for its request, please provide that so we may review. In addition, we continue to work in conjunction with Illinois’ election authorities to compile the additional information that the Department’s original July 28, 2025 letter sought for the purpose of assessing Illinois’ NVRA compliance. Thank you.

The board’s request for the statutory reference “requiring pre-litigation production of records” looks to me like the state is gonna force the feds to take them to court.