The Democratic National Committee sent a letter early Friday to the office of Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson regarding the Trump administration’s request for the state’s voter registration files.
The DNC is telling Henderson that if she does not reject the pressure from the Department of Justice to provide Utahns’ voter information, legal action will follow.
The letter to Henderson, shared first with the Deseret News, was authored by the committee’s litigation director. It argues the Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding violates federal election law, specifically the National Voter Registration Act.
DOJ’s request and state decisions
Beginning in May 2025, the DOJ has sent demands to nearly every state requesting copies of their statewide voter registration files.
The department said it was asking for the information to “test, analyze, and assess” the state voter rolls for “maintenance issues, insufficiency, inadequacy, anomalies, or concerns.”
The Civil Rights Division asked for Utah’s statewide voter registration list in mid-July and in its request the DOJ sought information on Utah’s compliance with laws related to the maintenance of its voter registration lists, like purging nonvoters.
The letter also asked for the names of election officials who oversee the process and noted that a recent review of the Election Assistance Commission’s Election Administration and Voting Survey found that Utah had the lowest rate for removing records from registration rolls in the country.
Just four of the state’s 29 counties provided data, the DOJ said, and asked for the remaining 25 counties’ data and the state’s explanation for its processes.
On July 31, Henderson’s office replied to the DOJ regarding its request, noting that the state of Utah is in compliance with federal voter registration laws and implements “safe, secure, and timely safeguards and processes for maintaining voter registration lists.”
Henderson provided the federal government with the most current version of the public statewide voter registration list, her response said.
In Utah, the law allows voters to make their information private and unavailable to be requested in public information requests. Only government employees and political parties can access the information.
After Henderson provided the publicly available list in August, the DOJ again requested the “complete” list, which includes more personal information about voters.
In its original letter, the DOJ asked for the state to “please include all fields contained” within the state’s computerized statewide voter registration list.
According to documents obtained by the Brennan Center for Justice, on Aug. 29, Henderson’s office sought clarification on the purpose and intended use of the complete list.
Months later, the DOJ offered to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with Utah to facilitate the sharing of the unredacted list.
In a Dec. 4 hearing, first reported by Stateline, acting chief of the DOJ’s Voting Section Eric Neff noted that 11 states have indicated to the federal government that they would be willing to comply with the Memorandum of Understanding. Of those 11 states, Utah is one of them, the outlet reported.
The DNC highlighted in its letter to Henderson that in the December hearing, Neff indicated Utah’s willingness to possibly negotiate an agreement with the administration.
The DNC letter can be read here.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding provided to the state of Colorado for the same matter, obtained by Stateline, the information provided to the DOJ under the agreement includes the following: voter registrants’ full name, date of birth, residential address, his or her state driver’s license number or the last four digits of the registrant’s Social Security number.
Under the agreement, the state would transfer that data to the federal government within five business days after signing. After the DOJ analyzes the information, the state has 45 days to “clean” its list by removing voters deemed ineligible and resubmit the list to the department — and any information submitted by the state can be presented to a court, the memorandum states.
Colorado rejected the proposed Memorandum of Understanding a day after receiving it and the DOJ sued the state days later.
In early December, Utah indicated via email to the DOJ that it needed more time to review the proposed Memorandum of Understanding and would respond within the “next few weeks.” The DOJ replied the same day that a weekslong timeline was “not acceptable,” according to the Brennan Center.
When reached for comment for this story about possible legal action against the state of Utah, the DOJ declined to comment.
Legal battles past, present and future
Since the DOJ began its request process last year, it has begun suing states that have not complied. It has sued 23 states, with the most recent lawsuits against Arizona and Connecticut on Tuesday.
Utah and Henderson are no strangers to scrutiny over the state voter registration rolls.
About two years ago, an audit of Utah elections found a lack of compliance among county clerks conducting audits and more than 1,000 deceased individuals still marked as active voters. The report called on Henderson to update its guidance for election offices to improve voter rolls.
This is something the DOJ called on the state to improve in its original July letter, but something Utah has already pledged to do. Following the 2022 audit, the state Legislature mandated an audit of the election system every even-numbered year, meaning one would be conducted in 2026.
The DOJ’s request also comes after lawmakers in Utah debated whether Henderson and future lieutenant governors should play a role in cleaning up voter registration lists.
During the 2024 election cycle, former gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman alleged there was foul play in the race because of a perceived conflict of interest with Henderson, who oversaw her own reelection as Gov. Spencer Cox’s running mate.
Last June, Lyman launched a lawsuit alleging that Utah’s voter privacy laws violate a federal statute. Under state law, voters can opt out of having their information accessible by the public, something Lyman’s suit said is illegal under the National Voter Registration Act.
Coupled with Lyman’s suit against Henderson, the DOJ’s request is the latest issue related to the state’s voter registration lists. Now, according to the DNC’s letter to the lieutenant governor, if the state does comply with the DOJ, Henderson could be facing a legal battle with national Democrats.
DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement to the Deseret News that the DNC does not want Utah voters’ sensitive information to be exposed while active voters could possibly be purged from the lists.
Martin said the DNC is calling on Henderson to push back against the DOJ’s request and proposed Memorandum of Understanding.
“To be clear: Democrats stand ready to fight back and defend Utah voters, and we’re prepared to use the tools at our disposal to do so,” Martin’s statement said.
The DNC said in its letter that it “remains possible that Utah has not yet violated” relevant laws and the letter sent to Henderson on Friday “does not constitute written notice of violations” from the DNC.
“Rather, the DNC sends this letter in the hope that the imminent violations set out above may still be avoided,” the letter reads. “Nonetheless, the DNC stands ready to issue a formal notice should the evidence of ongoing violations come to light.”
When reached for comment about the DOJ’s request for additional information regarding Utah’s voter rolls, Henderson’s office said the lieutenant governor doesn’t have anything additional to add at this time.