Congresswoman Tenney Sends Letter Demanding DOJ Enforce Federal Help America Vote Act

Utica, NY – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), founder and co-chair of the Election Integrity Caucus in Congress, today sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke demanding the Department of Justice (DOJ) enforce the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which requires states to collect critical personally identifiable information (PII) when accepting voter registrations. Congresswoman Tenney’s letter follows the release of a report from the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), which found that 3.1 million voter registrations in New York were missing PII.

HAVA prohibits states from accepting voter registration applications without PII, such as the last 4 digits of an individual’s Social Security Number or a driver’s license number if an individual has one. PILF released a report this week which outlined New York’s failure to comply with HAVA. According to the report, 3.1 million New York voter registrations were missing any form of PII.

PII is used to verify the identity of registrants. It is also key for good voter roll maintenance, as it is used to accurately update voter rolls when an individual moves to a different state, passes away, or even files duplicate voter registrations, either when moving within the same state or otherwise. Without PII, matching one John or Jane Doe to another is an incredibly difficult task that could lead to ineligible voters remaining on the rolls, voters registering in multiple states, or a voter receiving more than one opportunity to vote in a given election.

“Personally identifiable information is a necessary tool for election officials and helps ensure accurate maintenance of voter rolls,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “Faith in our elections is at an all-time low because far too many jurisdictions across the country, including right here in New York, are failing to comply with even the most basic election integrity measures. With the 2022 midterm elections quickly approaching, the Department of Justice must take swift and immediate action to ensure New York is fully compliant with HAVA’s voter registration requirements.”

"The Department of Justice is not doing its job," said PILF President, J. Christian Adams. "New York's missing personal identifying information for 3.1 million registered voters implicates the Help America Vote Act. Without this information, it is impossible to conduct effective voter list maintenance. The Justice Department needs to enforce all federal laws, not just the ones they agree with." 

The full text of the letter is available here.

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