Iowa has turned over its voter registration data to the federal government, including sensitive information such as Social Security numbers of the state’s roughly 2 million active voters, according to Secretary of State Paul Pate.
Pate announced Tuesday, May 5, that the state had acceded to the Department of Justice’s request for Iowa’s voter rolls. Federal officials have asked for such data from several states, ostensibly to address concerns about election integrity and illegal voting.
However, it is states, not the federal government, that are responsible for holding and running elections, and other states have resisted turning over voter information to the Trump administration.
In his statement, Pate said his office had consulted with Attorney General Brenna Bird and determined the state had a legal obligation under the federal Civil Rights Act and Driver’s Privacy Protection Act to provide the requested data. Federal law takes precedence over Iowa’s laws limiting the release of voter information, he said.
“We have a duty to follow the law,” Pate said. “We are legally obligated to comply with the request, but we do not take the obligation to turn this information over lightly. The Department of Justice has assured us that the data will be protected appropriately under federal law, and we expect them to uphold that promise.”
The federal requests come amid a broader push by the Trump administration to impose new restrictions on voting, asserting federal authority over what is traditionally a state- and locally-managed election process.
Both Pate and Bird, like Trump, are Republicans.
Other states, courts disagree with federal requests
Not every state agrees that the government is entitled to the requested data.
The federal government has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia for withholding their voter information. In a September 2025 statement announcing six such lawsuits, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi said states are obligated to show they are maintaining voter roles with integrity.
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” Bondi said. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
So far, the courts have not looked favorably on the government’s petitions.
Federal courts so far have dismissed lawsuits against California, Oregon, Michigan, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Arizona, according to the University of Wisconsin’s State Democracy Research Initiative. A sixth state, Oklahoma, settled its lawsuit and agreed to provide the requested data.
Iowa is complying with the federal data request, but Pate says election administration and voter registration remain state responsibilities.
“We are providing this information to the Department of Justice because we must comply with federal law,” he said. “It is a well-established fact and law that states are responsible for elections and voter list maintenance, and we urge the federal government to keep that in mind as they execute their duties to prosecute federal election misconduct.”
Trump administration seeks to curb mail-in voting
Iowa’s action in the wake of Trump’s March 31 executive order that, among other changes, seeks to create a first-of-its-kind federal list of eligible voters.
It also instructs the U.S. Postal Service not to deliver absentee ballots to anyone who isn’t on the list.
Trump’s order has been challenged in court by more than 20 Democratic state attorneys general. Iowa is not one of them.
However, Pate told reporters April 15 that he had “serious concerns” about the president’s executive order.
“I’ve said this before, I believe the U.S. Constitution says elections are run by the states,” Pate said at the time. “The only exception to that is congressional races, the Congress has a voice in it.”
He also expressed reservations about having the U.S. Postal Service take on a larger role in the country’s election system so close to a major election.
“As much as I think we have a pretty good relationship with the Post Office here in Iowa, I’m not sure I want the Post Office running our elections,” he said.
Register Capitol Bureau Chief Stephen Gruber-Miller contributed to this story.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa turns over voter info to Trump officials as other states object
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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