The Justice Department under President Donald Trump is pressing Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon to hand over the state’s complete voter registration list—active and inactive—along with detailed information about Help America Vote Act compliance.
A June 25 letter, first obtained by Democracy Docket, demands answers on how Minnesota handles voter registration, voter‑roll maintenance, security protocols, and steps taken to identify and remove noncitizens.
Simon’s office confirmed to Alpha News that it received the DOJ’s June 25 letter and plans to respond within the 30-day timeline.
“Why not cooperate? I thought we were proud and confident in our ‘free and secure’ elections,” Rep. Walter Hudson, R-Albertville, said in a tweet. “This is government election data. If there’s no problem with the state having it, why not the feds? What don’t they want DOJ to know?”
🤔 Why not cooperate?
I thought we were proud and confident in our "free and secure" elections.
This is government election data. If there's no problem with the state having it, why not the feds?
What don't they want DOJ to know? pic.twitter.com/7B823m6ioB
— Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) July 12, 2025
Heritage Foundation lawsuit raised concerns over voter roll transparency
This isn’t the first time Minnesota’s voter rolls have come under question.
Last year, the Heritage Foundation sued Simon’s office, alleging the state failed to disclose details about roughly 1,000 voters who were removed from the rolls following a manual review by the Department of Public Safety.
That review came after Democrats passed a law automatically registering Minnesotans to vote when they apply for or update a driver’s license— the same year they also allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
“The silence from Minnesota election officials on this important issue speaks volumes,” Kyle Brosnan, chief counsel for the Heritage Oversight Project, said at the time.
The lawsuit argued Minnesota officials refused to say how many of the inactivated voters were noncitizens and whether any had cast ballots in previous elections. However, court documents show the Heritage Foundation filed a notice of dismissal in the case in April.
Lawsuit challenges Minnesota exemption
The DOJ’s letter was signed by Maureen Riordan, the acting chief of the DOJ’s Voting Section. Riordan formerly worked for the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), a group that sued Simon last year to challenge Minnesota’s exemption from the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) Public Disclosure Provision. The case is still pending before the 8th Circuit, Democracy Docket reports. Riordan also spent 17 years as an attorney for the DOJ’s voting section.
According to PILF, the NVRA requires states to “make available for public inspection and, where available photocopying at a reasonable cost, all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters.”
Minnesota is one of six states with an exemption from that requirement, according to PILF.
“No state should be exempt from transparency,” PILF President, J. Christian Adams said at the time. “All states should be treated equally under the law and no exemption should allow certain election officials to hide documents relating to voter list maintenance activities.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
