PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read is warning that the Trump administration is overstepping its federal authority after requesting data on Oregon voters.
Over the last month, the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office has received at least two requests from the United States Department of Justice asking for information on Oregon voters and the workers who maintain Oregon’s voter rolls.
This includes a July 10 letter — which was shared with KOIN 6 News — sent from two members of the United States Department of Justice to Secretary Read.
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In the letter, the DOJ requested a phone call with Read “to discuss a potential information-sharing agreement that would provide the U.S. Department of Justice with information on, among other things, individuals who have registered to vote or have voted in your state despite being ineligible to vote, who may have committed other forms of election fraud, who may have provided false information to state authorities on voter registration or other election forms, or who may otherwise have engaged in unlawful conduct relevant to the election process.”
The DOJ letter went on to say, “we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections.”
Then, in another letter sent July 16 from Deputy Assistant Attorney General Michael Gates, the Trump administration requested information on Oregon’s procedures for complying with the National Voter Registration Act — a 1993 law that set voter registration requirements for federal elections, such as requiring states to offer voter registration opportunities at state motor vehicle agencies.
The letter also asked for voter registration information of individuals identified as non-citizens or convicted felons.
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In a July 23 letter responding to the first letter, Secretary Read rejected the DOJ’s request to enter an information-sharing agreement.
“As I’m sure you know, our country’s founding fathers specifically tasked the states, not the federal government, with administering free, fair, and secure elections. Our office is required by the U.S. Constitution (Article I, Section 4, Clause 1), the Oregon Constitution (Article VI, Section 2), and Oregon law (ORS 246.110 et seq.) to do everything in our power to protect the integrity of our elections and the rights of Oregonians. I take that responsibility seriously,” Read wrote.
The Oregon Secretary of State continued, “After I swore my oath to serve the people of Oregon in January, my team began taking immediate, aggressive action to shore up our elections system, and, to date, we have not conclusively determined that any individual engaged in unlawful conduct relevant to election processes. Therefore, there is no data to share.”
Read added that the DOJ does not cite any legal authority for the information they are requesting, noting, “I do not see how I can fulfill my duty to protect the integrity of Oregon’s election system while engaging in data-sharing agreements with the U.S. DOJ or other federal agencies at present.”
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“At best, I do not trust that this current administration is capable of protecting Oregonians’ personal data, given the recent, high-profile leaks of state secrets and reckless gutting of federal agencies. I have a responsibility to the citizens of this state to protect their privacy,” the secretary continued.
“At worst, I am concerned that this administration will use any data we provide to unlawfully and unjustly violate Oregonians’ rights. I have no interest in collaborating with an administration that is engaged in the illegal detention and deportation of both non-citizens and U.S. citizens alike. I will not provide information that could lead to parents being separated from their children,” Read added.
The secretary concluded, “Oregonians elected me to ensure that our state sets a national standard for free, fair, and secure elections. They did not elect me to hand over Oregonians’ personal data to a government that does not demonstrate an interest in respecting the freedom and rights that our country is literally founded upon. I swore an oath to uphold those rights. That oath means something to me. When you can assure me all your federal colleagues respect their oaths, I’d be happy to talk further.”
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In an interview with KOIN 6 News on Monday, the Secretary of State warned, “the federal government is clearly exceeding their authority here, and they’re seeking access to private voter data, and that is not something that we are going to comply with. My job as Secretary of State is to protect the right of every Oregonian to vote, to hold politicians accountable and to do that securely, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Read’s response, stating “there is no data to share,” regarding unlawful conduct in election processes comes after the Oregon Department of Transportation reported in 2024 that the state’s Department of Motor Vehicle Services made an error by automatically registering roughly 1,800 people to vote in Oregon who did not register.
The DMV told KOIN 6 that 38 of those individuals had a voting history and many were already U.S. citizens.
According to Read, the government’s error in this case is not a reason to share voter information with the DOJ.
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“What happened was a government error, not an error or an intentionality on the part of people,” Read told KOIN 6. “They were told by the state government that they were registered to vote. They did not take that action. So, it’s important for us to look in the mirror as a state government and continue to improve our processes. That’s the kind of action that we’ve taken. We’ve added new checks, new measures, new controls to make sure that those kinds of errors don’t happen again.”
The secretary of state stressed the importance of keeping Oregon voter data private, explaining, “The information that is contained could be used for a lot of different purposes and our obligation is to protect that because we use it to verify that people are voting appropriately, voting in the in the right place, that the ballots that they receive are an accurate reflection of the offices where they have a vote. And we don’t want it to be used for anything else.”
Read told KOIN 6 that he’s heard from other secretaries of state that they have received similar requests from the DOJ, adding, “I think this is just an indication that the administration is looking for ways to undermine our systems of democracy, of the fundamental right for Oregonians and Americans to vote to hold politicians accountable. That’s at the heart of our representative democracy, and it’s not something we should take for granted.”
Read added, “Oregonians should be confident that our system of mail-in elections is secure and accurate and that we will do everything we can to defend and protect that system so that Oregonians have the ability to vote confidently, that their information is not going to be shared and that they will be able to participate and help us build the government and the state that we all want and deserve.
KOIN 6 News has reached out to the United States Department of Justice. This story will be updated if we receive a response.
