News Room

SAINT PAUL – On January 24, 2026, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz with three requests that she writes would "restore the rule of law, support ICE officers, and bring an end to the chaos in Minnesota.” The third request in the letter was to allow the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to access Minnesota’s “voter rolls.”

The letter was sent on the same day a second Minnesotan was shot and killed by federal immigration enforcement agents - and the day after tens of thousands of Minnesotans peacefully marched in sub-zero temperatures for an end to the federal occupation.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon has issued the following statement in response.

“The answer to Attorney General Bondi’s request is no. Her letter is an outrageous attempt to coerce Minnesota into giving the federal government private data on millions of U.S. Citizens in violation of state and federal law. This comes after repeated and failed attempts by the DOJ to pressure my office into providing the same data.

Minnesota’s elections are fair, accurate, honest, and secure. Every step of the way they are organized by local officials – Minnesotans who do honest, hard work to ensure their neighbors, friends, and family have access to a secure ballot.

Our office has already provided the Department of Justice a detailed explanation of how we successfully manage and secure our voter registration files. Yet, without alleging any wrongdoing by Minnesota, the DOJ continues to demand that we disclose private data such as social security and drivers’ license information. We have repeatedly offered to disclose to the DOJ voter data that is already public, without the need to reveal private data protected by state and federal law. The DOJ has declined those offers.

Attorney General Bondi knows full well that the Governor has no formal role in managing our elections or maintaining our voter registration system. She is also well aware that this specific request is the subject of active litigation with our office.

Our position on the federal government’s request to access Minnesota voting records starts and ends with the law. The law does not give the federal government the authority to obtain this private data. Minnesota is not alone in declining to disclose sensitive personal data on voters. So far, thirty-one other states have said no. DOJ is in active litigation with twenty-four of those states– and the courts have swiftly dismissed DOJ’s claims in three of them.

In Minnesota, we will continue to follow the letter of the law, which requires us to protect the private data of our voters.

It is deeply disturbing that the U.S. Attorney General would make this unlawful request a part of an apparent ransom to pay for our state’s peace and security.

More broadly, the federal government must end the unprecedented and deadly occupation of our state immediately.

The tactics used by too many ICE agents have been dangerous, destabilizing, unnecessarily cruel, and counterproductive. They are tactics that often seem aimed at instilling fear more than protecting the public.

Finally, I have been heartened by Minnesotans’ resolve thus far to remain peaceful and law-abiding. I want to echo the calls by public officials of all kinds to de-escalate, even when the federal government appears to want escalation. We should continue to meet darkness and division with light and compassion.”