State Department Weighs Sharing Passport Records for Voter Checks Before November Midterms
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 29
State Department Weighs Sharing Passport Records for Voter Checks Before November Midterms
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 29
Summary
State Department officials are assessing a plan to let state and local election authorities use federal passport records to verify whether registered voters are U.S. citizens before the November midterms.
A Justice Department court filing said the agency could publish a Federal Register notice as early as Oct. 22, creating a new Privacy Act “routine use” for Passport Services Records.
The proposed sharing would cover personally identifiable passport data through federal verification platforms for voter eligibility checks and other government services, while the department says it aims to protect data and deter fraud.
The move follows a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling Friday allowing DHS to share citizenship information with local governments, after earlier Trump administration voter-verification efforts using Social Security and DHS records were partly blocked in court.
The disclosure surfaced in a Democratic challenge to Trump’s mail-voting executive order, underscoring how election-administration fights are increasingly shifting into federal courts ahead of the 2026 vote.