2025 House Resolution 196

Whereas, The administration of voter registration for elections for federal office is regulated, in part, at the federal level; and

Whereas, The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) was enacted to “protect the integrity of the electoral process” and “ensure that accurate and current voter registration rolls are maintained,” and this purpose was furthered by the requirements of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA), which requires states to conduct voter registration list maintenance “on a regular basis”; and

Whereas, Federal law also imposes transparency requirements related to voter registration. Under Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, state election officers are required to retain and preserve “all records and papers which come into [their] possession relating to any application, registration, payment of poll tax, or other act requisite to voting” in an election for federal office for a period of 22 months from the date of the election. Section 303 of the Civil Rights Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20703, further provides that any such record “shall, upon demand in writing by the Attorney General or his representative . . . be made available for inspection, reproduction, and copying at the principal office” of the custodian of the record. Furthermore, section 8(i)(1) of the NVRA, 52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)(1), requires each state to maintain for at least two years and make available for public inspection “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,” with limited exceptions; and

Whereas, The Attorney General of the United States is entitled to certain state election records under these laws and has the power to bring suit against the state to obtain them. Section 303 of the Civil Rights Act expressly requires records relating to voter registration to be made available upon the demand of the Attorney General, and section 401 of the HAVA, 52 U.S.C. § 21111, grants the Attorney General civil enforcement authority for that act. Under the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, these federal requirements take precedence over state laws, even when they conflict. Federal law authorizes the Attorney General to bring a civil action against a state “to carry out the uniform and nondiscriminatory election technology and administration requirements” of the HAVA, including requirements to conduct voter registration list maintenance in compliance with the NVRA; and

Whereas, On July 21, 2025, the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice wrote a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to request “information regarding the State’s procedures for complying with the statewide voter registration list maintenance provisions of the [NVRA] and the voter verification requirements of the [HAVA].” One specific piece of information requested by the Department was “[t]he current electronic copy of Michigan’s computerized statewide voter registration list.” The United States Department of Justice sent an additional letter to Secretary Benson on August 14, describing the Department’s authority under the NVRA and the HAVA and further requesting an unredacted copy of the statewide voter registration list pursuant to Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960; and

Whereas, On September 2, 2025, the Michigan Department of State provided a partial response to the request of the United States Department of Justice. However, the Michigan Department of State refused to provide an unredacted copy of the statewide voter registration list, instead providing the United States Department of Justice with the public version of our statewide voter registration list, the Qualified Voter File (QVF), citing the Michigan Election Law and Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act and disputing the United States Department of Justice’s arguments about privacy protections under federal law. The Michigan Department of State reiterated that it would only be providing the public version of the QVF in a further response to the United States Department of Justice on September 9, 2025; and

Whereas, On September 25, 2025, the United States filed suit against the Michigan Secretary of State, seeking an order compelling the state to provide an unredacted copy of Michigan’s computerized statewide voter registration list. The federal government has indicated that each registrant’s date of birth and their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number are necessary for the Attorney General of the United States to determine whether Michigan is complying with the voter registration list maintenance requirements of the NVRA and the HAVA; and

Whereas, While the QVF does contain personal information, the United States Department of Justice has provided the Michigan Department of State options for sharing this data in a secure manner. The Department has indicated that the data “will be kept securely and treated consistently with the Privacy Act” of 1974, which provides strong safeguards against improper disclosure of information; and

Whereas, As the state’s chief election officer, the Michigan Secretary of State has a duty to administer and enforce Michigan election laws, including laws on voter registration list maintenance. The United States Department of Justice and the Michigan Department of State thus share a common goal in ensuring that elections held in Michigan are free and fair, which is facilitated by the careful review of voter registration records to confirm they are as accurate and up to date as possible. Compliance with federal law supports this shared goal; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we demand that the Michigan Secretary of State comply with the United States Department of Justice’s request for an unredacted copy of Michigan’s computerized statewide voter registration list, as required by section 303 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and section 8(i)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, to the full extent permitted by law; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Michigan Secretary of State, the Attorney General of the United States, and the clerk of each county, city, and township in Michigan.