Voter data Trump claimed China obtained is easy to get in most states

President Trump made the alarming claim Thursday that China conducted what may be “the largest compromise of election data in history” with its “illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files.” But voter data is accessible across all 50 states.

Twenty states and Washington, D.C., will provide voter data with a simple public request, purchase or online download.

Fifteen states allow access to voter rolls, but users must state a political or research purpose, have state residency, be a registered voter in the state, or sign a use agreement.

Ten states primarily provide records through local election offices or supervised inspection, rather than an open statewide file.

Five states limit voter-file access to specified groups, such as candidates, political parties, committees, news organizations or government officials.

Voter data that is released to the public often includes registered voters’ names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and political parties. Some more sensitive information is typically kept confidential, including Social Security numbers.

In his speech, the president said that China has the “names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities,” which is not entirely true. Yes, they may have that data — however, that information alone is not enough to alter or create voter registrations.

Nearly all states exclude sensitive identifiers, and most prohibit commercial use or resale. 

David Becker, executive director for the Center for Election Innovation and Research and CBS News election law contributor, says that there is no evidence the Chinese could create a match between voter roll information and Department of Motor Vehicles or Social Security numbers, which is what would be necessary to create a false voter registration or alter an existing voter registration. He pointed out that this is part of the 2002 Help America Vote Act, which states that Americans must have a current and valid driver’s license or provide Social Security information to register to vote.

We still don’t know whether all the information accessed by Chinese actors came from public records, commercial databases, stolen private data or actual computer intrusions. But members of the public can legally obtain much of the same category of voter information in many states — without hacking into anything at all.

Here’s how to obtain voter registration files in the 50 states.