Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for Votebeat Texas’ free newsletter here.At least three Texas counties this week either received or were told they would soon receive administrative subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The department is seeking detailed records about some individual voters, including their registration applications and voter history, though counties don’t yet know which ones. The subpoenas appear to be linked to a series of efforts by the Trump administration to verify the citizenship of registered voters. In December, Texas turned over the state’s voter roll to the Justice Department. The transfer included voters’ identifiable information such as dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and partial social security numbers. It did not include, however, voters’ registration applications or signatures — the state does not have access to that information, which is kept by county voter registrars. Lubbock County’s elections administrator, Roxzine Stinson, said she met with a Homeland Security representative who informed her she would soon receive a subpoena seeking additional information for at least 10 voters, and potentially up to 30. Stinson said she’ll seek guidance from the county’s legal department on how to respond. The Homeland Security representative told Stinson “all 254 counties will be contacted,” she said. Election officials in Brazos County received a subpoena by email this week, Trudy Hancock, the county’s elections administrator, confirmed to Votebeat. Hancock said the subpoena specifically requests voter registration records, including voter registration applications, signatures, and voter history, but doesn’t list the names of individual voters. She said she’s asking for legal advice on how to respond “because the request is open-ended.”Suzie Harvey, the election administrator in Montgomery County confirmed she has also received a subpoena that was delivered in person, but similarly to Hancock, it isn’t specific about which voters’ records it’s seeking. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoenas Friday. The Texas Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment on whether it has received a subpoena from DHS but Alicia Pierce, a spokesperson, said the office is aware that some counties are receiving them.The Trump administration has aggressively sought to obtain voter roll data from the states, requesting unredacted versions that include voters’ personally identifying information, such as driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. So far, the U.S. Department of Justice has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia for declining to provide it.The federal government has also urged states to check their voter rolls against a Homeland Security database, known as SAVE, that it overhauled to more easily check voter rolls for potential noncitizens. Texas did so and asked counties to investigate 2,724 voters flagged as potential noncitizens. Counties have found at least some of those voters to be citizens, including some who had already provided proof of citizenship to the state. Watchdog groups have criticized the database’s accuracy. Earlier this month, CNN reported that the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security had reached an agreement to give DHS the voter roll data obtained from states. Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Marymount University who advised President Joe Biden’s administration on democracy and voting rights, said that if the agency is investigating potential noncitizens who have registered to vote, it makes sense that it might want additional information and records. To obtain that info, though, the subpoenas would need to request information about specific voters. “You’d want the actual voter registration form, the actual mail ballot envelope if there was one, etc, to see if the individual falsely swore they were a citizen,” Levitt said. He added that open-ended subpoenas such as the ones Hancock and Harvey received seem “very weird.”In a statement, Chris McGinn, the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials, said the organization recognizes the importance of federal oversight “within its proper constitutional bounds,” and is “committed to ensuring that any such requests comply with applicable law and respect the principles of federalism that govern election administration in Texas.” The organization is recommending that any county election officials receiving a subpoena from the federal government consult with their county attorney or legal representation before taking any action. Natalia Contreras is a reporter for Votebeat in partnership with The Texas Tribune. She is based in Corpus Christi. Contact Natalia at ncontreras@votebeat.org.
