Secretary Evnen handing over Nebraska voters’ data, including social security info, to DOJ

The Lancaster County District Court and the Nebraska Supreme Court have cleared the way for Secretary of State Bob Evnen to hand over sensitive voter information to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear an appeal in a lawsuit aimed to prevent state officials from distributing the voter data, but that hearing won't be until March 31. In the meantime, it allowed the secretary of state to fulfill the request from federal officials.

The emergency injunction was the latest, last-ditch attempt by Common Cause Nebraska, a voter advocacy organization, to stop the data handover.

"The Nebraska Supreme Court is sending a strong message -- don't release voters' sensitive data without the Court ruling on the facts in this case," Common Cause Executive Director Gavin Geis said late Wednesday. "The Secretary of State needs to listen. We have always believed in the merits of this case and the importance of protecting Nebraskans. We are looking forward to our day in front of the court."

Evnen said his office will be providing Nebraskans’ voter information, including the last four digits of Social Security numbers and dates of birth, to the Trump administration on Thursday.

“For 99% of our registered voters, we have the last four digits of the Social Security number, so that’s what we will be providing. For those voters, we will not be providing a driver’s license number,” Evnen said Wednesday in a news release..

In September, Common Cause sued Evnen to block the release of the non-public voter file, which includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The lawsuit argued that only state officials should control Nebraska’s election data and that releasing sensitive voter information violates both voter privacy and Nebraska law.

Common Cause argued that the DOJ request is demanding copies of the state’s entire voter register “via encrypted email or a file sharing platform.” Under state law, any member of the public can access certain portions of the voter registration file through a records request to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office, but only election officials and law enforcement can make copies of the voter file, and copies of the register “shall only be used” to maintain the voter registration file in accordance to state law or for law enforcement purposes.

The request for voter registration data stems from efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to investigate past elections. In late January, when tensions rose between Minneapolis residents and federal agents who shot and killed two people, the federal government told state officials in a letter that it would “bring an end to chaos in Minnesota” if they fulfill certain requests, including handing over Minnesota’s voter information.

The DOJ has filed lawsuits against at least 18 states to acquire their voter data. In court filings, the DOJ has said it wants the information to check if states are following federal law on keeping accurate voter rolls.

Evnen said he was grateful that the feds were reviewing other states to be sure that they are in compliance with election laws.

“There is no evidence of significant voter fraud here in Nebraska,” Evnen said.

In his first term in office, Trump requested voter information data from states, and then-Secretary of State John Gale held off on fulfilling the request. He said he would only hand over the requested information if the administration’s Presidential Commission on Election Integrity gave “assurance that this request meets compliance with Nebraska law” and details “how the data will be used, how it will be secured and how it might be publicly shared.”

Then-Gov. Pete Ricketts endorsed Gale’s decision to withhold the information from the feds, saying, “I think he’s spot on. Basically what he’s saying is that you have to comply with Nebraska law, and our law is specific about the uses of data. … He also had some concerns about whether the data was going to continue to be secure, and he had some questions about that.”