The US State Department is moving to expand access to passport records so state and local officials, and potentially some nonprofit organizations, can use the information to verify voter eligibility, according to a Bloomberg report based on a notice sent to key lawmakers.
The proposal would add “voter eligibility” to the list of approved “routine uses” for the State Department’s passport-services records. The records contain sensitive citizenship and identity information and have historically been accessed mainly by government agencies for specific purposes.
The move comes as the Trump administration pushes for greater use of federal databases to help states verify citizenship and review voter rolls.
Passport data enters voter verification debate
Under the existing rules, passport records can be used to verify citizenship and identity for purposes including Social Security benefits, employment applications, estate settlements, law enforcement and counterterrorism, Bloomberg reported.
The proposed change would broaden those permitted uses to include voter eligibility checks. It could also allow access beyond government entities, although the State Department notice does not identify which nonprofit organizations could qualify.
The department told Bloomberg that it does not comment on pending litigation. The agency did not immediately provide comment on the passport-record proposal.
The Justice Department disclosed the State Department’s plan in a court filing this week as part of ongoing litigation over President Donald Trump’s election-related executive order.
States run elections, but federal databases are expanding
US elections are primarily administered by states and local governments, making the administration’s expanded use of federal records a contentious issue.
Democratic organizations and voting-rights groups have sued over key provisions of Trump’s election orders, arguing that the administration is improperly expanding federal control over elections. The administration has defended its actions as efforts to enforce citizenship requirements and prevent election fraud.
The passport proposal is one part of a broader effort involving federal databases.
Separately, the Justice Department has asked the US Supreme Court to allow an expansion of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to incorporate Social Security Administration information and permit states to conduct bulk searches. A federal district judge previously blocked that plan, finding that it violated privacy laws and could expose eligible voters to wrongful registration cancellations.
Proposal unlikely to affect November midterms
The passport-record change is not expected to take effect before the November 3 midterm electionsbased on the regulatory timeline described by the Justice Department.
The State Department is expected to formally publish the proposal in the Federal Register 30 days after notifying congressional committees. The public would then have another 30 days to submit comments.
That process means the proposal would move forward after the midterms, when control of Congress will be contested.
The plan could nevertheless become significant in future voter-registration checks if it is ultimately adopted, particularly because it would bring passport and citizenship records into a wider system of voter-eligibility verification.