The Department of Homeland Security has referred potential Driver’s Privacy Protection Act violations to the Justice Department over the transfer of millions of Americans’ sensitive driver records to the Electronic Registration Information Center and then to a nonprofit funded by the Chan Zuckerberg foundation.
Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s September 2 letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche says ERIC “lobbies states to sign a contract that requires the disclosure of the private data of individuals who were not registered to vote.” That data then went to the Center for Election Innovation and Research.
The Priscilla Chan Zuckerberg Foundation gave CEIR more than $70 million before 2020. During that election, Zuckerberg’s foundation donated more than $400 million to CEIR and the Center for Tech & Civic Life for grants to election offices. Pennsylvania’s $13 million grant required the state to hand over motor vehicle data originally shared with ERIC so CEIR could build “eligible but unregistered” outreach lists.
DHS says at least nine states authorized agreements allowing the transfer, and those states collectively have more than 48 million registered voters. The agency believes the number of individuals whose data was involved could be higher because motor-vehicle files also include people who were not registered to vote.
ERIC claims a research exception. Mullin says that exception bars contacting people, and DHS has evidence ERIC contacted “eligible or possibly eligible” unregistered citizens. Georgia emails show CEIR was “coordinating ERIC [eligible voter] outreach” and contacting each person in the motor vehicle file.
A Trump administration official said DOJ could issue a cease-and-desist, levy penalties, or review ERIC’s 501(c)(3) status.
