OKLAHOMA CITY - Requests from the U.S. Department of Justice for what in some cases has been a trove of voter and election data from several states caused barely a ripple in Oklahoma, a State Election Board official told Southwest Ledger.
The Associated Press reported on Aug. 3 that the Justice Department was “ramping up an effort to get voter data and other election information” from several states.
During the previous three months the department’s voting section requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states, AP wrote. Of those, nine states are controlled by Democrats, five are dominated by Republicans, and one was led by a bipartisan commission.
In Colorado the department demanded “all records” relating to the 2024 election and any records the state retained from the 2020 election. Democrats have held the Colorado governorship for 24 of the last 32 years, and since 2008 the state has voted Democratic in five consecutive presidential elections.
The Justice Department sued Illinois, Georgia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia in December in an attempt to get the lists of their registered voters. In each case, the states and D.C. refused to turn over the information. They cited local laws intended to protect the privacy of voters.
The DOJ requested Oklahoma’s statewide voter registration list “several months ago,” Misha Mohr, director of communications and public information for the State Election Board, told the Ledger.
The Justice Department was provided with instructions for accessing the list through the OK Election Data Warehouse, Mohr said. “However, no request for access was received.”
Effective Nov. 1, 2025, in compliance with 26 O.S. § 7-103.2, access to Oklahoma’s voter registration list is now limited to the following, Mohr noted:
•Bona fide residents of Oklahoma who are U.S. citizens, or
•Official representatives of recognized political parties in Oklahoma, or
•Candidates for offices in Oklahoma and their official representatives, or
•Other persons, as authorized by state law.
“We are not aware of any other laws which authorize persons other than those listed in 26 O.S. § 7-103.2 to access the voter registration list at this time,” Mohr said.
Information about accessing the voter list is available at https://oklahoma.gov/ elections/candidates/voter- list.html.
Information about the data included in the voter registration list can be found in the OK Election Data Warehouse (EDW) Information Packet.
https://oklahoma.gov/
Oklahoma elections ‘safe and secure’
The Trump administration said it needs the voter registration and election materials from the states to verify the integrity of voting procedures.
In Oklahoma, 39 suspected voting offenses were reported during the statewide 2024 General Election. Those transgressions constituted 25 ten-thousandths of 1 % of the 1,566,173 votes cast in the Presidential election, the contest that received the most votes.
The Oklahoma Multi-County Grand Jury indicted an Oklahoma City woman in October on a felony count of voting twice during the 2024 General Election. However, 38 other potential violations of state election laws — including 26 other potential instances of double voting — also were reported during that election.
Victoria Vincenza Dill, 31, is accused of voting illegally in the Nov. 5, 2024, election. The Oklahoma State Election Board discovered Dill voted in person in Oklahoma County and submitted an absentee ballot in Payne County on the same day. A preliminary hearing in Dill’s case is scheduled in Payne County District Court on Jan. 5.
Until Dill’s felony charge was filed, the last time a major voter fraud case was reported in Oklahoma was in 2021, when the daughter of a former legislative leader pleaded “no contest” to a misdemeanor voter fraud charge arising from the 2020 general election. She submitted an absentee ballot for her father 12 days after he died.
The woman pleaded guilty, received a deferred 60-day county jail sentence, a $10 fine and $466.50 in court costs.
After the Oklahoma State Election Board reviewed information it received from Oklahoma’s 77 county election boards, the total number of voter irregularities detected during the November 2020 statewide general election was set at 66, Mohr said.
Those 66 incidents constituted .0042% of the 1.566 million votes cast in the Presidential race that year — 42 ten-thousandths of 1%.
Post-election audits have consistently proven that Oklahoma elections are safe and secure, State Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax said last year. “The accuracy of Oklahoma election results has been confirmed, time and time again, through both manual post-election audits and candidate-requested recounts.”
Post-election audits were enacted by the state Legislature and implemented by the State Election Board in 2022 “for the purpose of maintaining the security of the election system...” Post-elections audits are defined as “a manual or electronic examination of a limited number of ballots.”
DOJ sues 22 states
To date, the U.S. Justice Department has filed 22 lawsuits to get detailed voter information from states.
Ten states complied with the requests for voter data but the other refused, AP reported.
In its lawsuits, the Justice Department has demanded that the states turn over “all used and void ballots, stubs of all ballots, signature envelopes, and corresponding envelope digital files” from the 2020 general election.
Wisconsin provided a typical example among states that have declined the requests for voter data. The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted to refuse the Justice Department request.
The data would reveal the full names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers of Wisconsin voters. Republican and Democratic commissioners from the elections commission said state law requires keeping the data private.
Nevada also refused to release its voter data. Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said the Justice Department did not explain how the information would be used. He also said he is trying to follow state law to protect voters’ sensitive information.
“While these requests may seem like normal oversight, the federal government is using its power to try to intimidate states and influence how states administer elections ahead of the 2026 cycle,” Aguilar said in a press release. “The Constitution makes it clear: elections are run by the states.”
The federal lawsuits accuse states that defy the requests of violating Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960.
Title III requires state and local election officials to retain federal election records, including registration and voting documents. It is supposed to ensure election integrity by allowing for federal review of voter qualifications and to prevent potential suppression of votes in a discriminatory way.
The Justice Department lawsuit says, “The attorney general or her representative may request a federal court to issue an order directing the custodian to produce the demanded records.”
Mike W. Ray is afifth-generation, award-winning journalist who has more than 55years’ experience covering municipal, county, state and federal government in Oklahoma and Texas. He can be reached at mike.ray@swoknews. com.