{"id":2065720,"date":"2023-10-12T23:13:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T03:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-watcher-files-federal-case-accusing-minnesota-of-sharing-private-voter-information\/"},"modified":"2023-10-12T23:20:25","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T03:20:25","slug":"election-watcher-files-federal-case-accusing-minnesota-of-sharing-private-voter-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-watcher-files-federal-case-accusing-minnesota-of-sharing-private-voter-information\/","title":{"rendered":"Election observer sues Minnesota for sharing private voter data."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Felection-watcher-files-federal-case-accusing-minnesota-of-sharing-private-voter-information%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2065720&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>A lawsuit \u2062has been filed against the Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, alleging the state&#8217;s practice of cleaning its voter\u2019s roll by\u200d sharing\u2062 citizens\u2019 private information with a third party violates federal law, and although this case is\u200b limited to Minnesota, other states are doing the same thing.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who obtains a state driver\u2019s license or\u2062 identification card knows the state collects a lot of personal information in the licensing\u200b process.<\/p>\n<p>The 1994 federal Drivers Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) restricts the disclosure and use of personal information found in state motor vehicle databases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<h2>Related Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/west-virginia-election-officials-say-virginia-correct-to-exit-eric-voter-roll-system-5273903?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>West Virginia Election Officials Say Virginia Correct to Exit ERIC Voter Roll\u2063 System<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><span class=\"text-comp-caption\">5\/18\/2023<\/span><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/pennsylvania-state-senators-consider-leaving-eric-5288653?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><br \/>\n<h3>Pennsylvania State \u2064Senators Consider Leaving ERIC<\/h3>\n<p><\/a><span class=\"text-comp-caption\">5\/24\/2023<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">\n<p>Yet since \u200c2014, Minnesota has been \u2063giving this \u2064information to the Electronic Registration \u200cInformation Center \u200b(ERIC) to maintain the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/former-ny-times-columnist-ruled-ineligible-to-run-for-oregon-governor\/\" title=\"Former NY Times Columnist Ruled Ineligible To Run For Oregon Governor\">voter registration records<\/a>.\u2064 As part of the agreement, \u2062Minnesota\u2063 promised to give ERIC \u2062the following information from everyone who gets a license: 1)\u200b name, 2) date of birth, 3) address, 4) driver&#8217;s license or state identification card number, 5) \u200cthe last four digits of the Social Security\u200b number,\u2063 6) phone number, \u200cand \u20627) email address. This includes registered voters and people who are not registered to vote,\u200c plus\u200c minors ages 16 \u2064and \u200b17 who are not yet old enough to vote, but who are, in Minnesota, allowed to preregister \u2064for voting.<\/p>\n<h2>Voter Registration \u2062Lists<\/h2>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed \u200bin \u2064the U.S. District Court for the\u200b District \u2063of\u2062 Minnesota, alleges that \u2064sharing data collected in \u2062the driver&#8217;s license process violates the DPPA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The filing was\u2063 announced\u200b Thursday, Oct. 12, in a press call with Attorney Erick Kaarda of the law firm Mohrman, Kaardal &#038; \u200dErickson on behalf of the Minnesota Association for \u2063Government Accountability, and individual Minnesota citizens, parents, minors, and state senators Mark Koran and Calvin Bahr.<\/p>\n<p>The DPPA has 14 exceptions that allow\u200c for the disclosure of private \u2064driver data. For example, it could be shared if it&#8217;s for law enforcement purposes, for insurance purposes or if an individual specifically consents for their private driver\u2062 data to be disclosed for use by something like the commercial retailer.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Another exception allows private driver data to be disclosed if it&#8217;s for use in a legally permitted government function.<\/p>\n<p>ERIC \u200cuses the data to \u200cmake \u200blists of\u200d eligible but unregistered voters and requires the states\u200b it contracts \u2062with to use these lists to attempt to \u2062get them\u200d registered\u2064 for voting. This, the plaintiffs argue, is the\u200c real purpose of ERIC, \u200cand it\u200d is not allowed.<\/p>\n<p>Voter \u2063registration drives are political and not the role of the government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe U.S. Election \u2064Assistance\u2062 Commission says this isn&#8217;t a government function.\u201d Mr. Kaardal said. \u201cThe federal law states that that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-81-election-fraud-cases-brought-to-courts-30-active-cases\/\" title=\"Report: 81 election fraud cases brought to courts, 30 active cases\">voter registration drives<\/a> are a\u2064 private function. It&#8217;s something that political parties, nonprofits and campaigns do. So how is it that we&#8217;re using our private\u200b driver\u2064 data in Minnesota for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-watcher-files-federal-case-accusing-minnesota-of-sharing-private-voter-information\/\" title=\"Election observer sues Minnesota for sharing private voter data.\">government-sponsored voter registration \u2062drives<\/a>?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota&#8217;s \u2064membership agreement with ERIC also allows \u200cERIC to \u2064share the private driver data with \u2064ERIC&#8217;s agents,\u2064 contractors and subcontractors.<\/p>\n<p>The plaintiffs are asking for the\u2064 court to stop the \u2064Secretary \u200cof State \u2063from sharing their private\u2062 data kept by driver vehicle services through either a temporary restraining order or\u200c preliminary \u200cinjunction while this litigation is\u200b pending.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 Minnesota Department of\u200d State does not comment\u200b on pending litigation, Press Secretary Cassondra Knudson told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>The following states are members of ERIC and also share private driver&#8217;s license data with\u2062 Eric: Alaska, Arizona,\u2062 Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New\u200d Mexico,\u2063 Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,\u2063 South\u2063 Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe must execute our election activities in a nonpartisan manner, and we should never use our government resources\u2014our data\u2014\u200b to influence elections. This data, in many cases, is\u200d not available to the public,\u2064 or other partisan entities for\u200c political or other purposes,\u201d Mr. Koran said.<\/p>\n<p>He mentioned a variety of legislation pending in Minnesota \u200bthat \u2063could add to the \u2064number of citizens having personal data shared, including \u2062automatic voter registration for\u200b anyone \u2064who interacts with a Department of\u2063 Public Safety\u200d for anything driver&#8217;s license or \u2064ID related. And anyone who interacts with the Department of\u200d Human Services\u200d would also have their\u200d information sent in, and they will be automatically enrolled in the statewide voter registration \u2062system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think we should be \u2064very clear: Minnesota must be compliant with the DPPA protecting \u2062their \u2063privacy, private personally identifiable \u2063information, and we need to stop participating in \u2063ERIC because, I believe, Minnesota elections should not be\u2062 for sale to private \u200bcompanies for partisan purposes,\u201d Mr. Koran said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr.\u200c Kaardal said election watchers have\u2064 been complaining\u2064 about ERIC\u2019s use of driver\u200d data for years, but nothing has happened, and they\u200b need\u2064 the help of the court to enforce the federal law.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis\u200c is the biggest data privacy case\u2062 ever because you have\u200d 300 million records involved,\u201d Mr. Kaardal said. \u201cI mean, ERIC \u2064has bragged that it has 300 \u2062million records, including driver data. It&#8217;s just an extraordinary breach\u200c of the Driver Privacy Protection \u200dAct, and people should be concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> \u200d How does \u2064the lawsuit against Minnesota&#8217;s Secretary \u2062of State highlight \u200cthe potential\u200c violation of federal law in \u200csharing citizens&#8217; personal information?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  A lawsuit has been filed against the Minnesota Secretary of State, Steve Simon, accusing the state \u200bof violating federal law by sharing citizens&#8217; private \u200dinformation with a third party when cleaning its voter rolls. Although the case is specific to \u200cMinnesota, it\u200b highlights a larger issue in which \u200dother \u2064states are engaging in similar practices.<\/p>\n<p>Those who obtain a state driver&#8217;s\u200d license or identification card are \u2062aware of the\u2063 extensive personal \u2064information \u2062collected during the licensing process. However, \u2063the 1994 federal \u200dDrivers \u2064Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) restricts the disclosure and use of \u200cpersonal information found\u2062 in state \u200cmotor vehicle databases.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2014,\u2062 Minnesota has been \u2064sharing this information \u200bwith the\u2064 Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to maintain its voter registration \u200brecords. As part of \u200dthe \u200cagreement, \u200dMinnesota promised to provide ERIC with the names, dates of birth,\u2062 addresses, \u2063driver&#8217;s license \u200cor state identification card \u2063numbers, the last four \u2064digits of \u200cthe Social Security number, phone numbers, and email addresses of all license holders. This includes\u2064 registered voters, non-registered individuals, and minors aged 16 and 17 who\u2064 are allowed to preregister for voting in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, argues that the sharing of data collected during the driver&#8217;s license process\u2062 violates the\u2062 DPPA. The plaintiffs include \u2062the Minnesota \u200cAssociation for Government Accountability, individual Minnesota citizens, parents, minors, and state senators Mark Koran and Calvin Bahr. Attorney\u2063 Erick\u2063 Kaarda of the law firm Mohrman, Kaardal &#038; Erickson announced the filing in a press\u2063 call\u2062 on behalf of the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<p>While the DPPA allows for certain exceptions to the disclosure \u2064of private driver\u2062 data, such as for law enforcement \u200bor insurance purposes, sharing the data for government-sponsored voter registration drives is \u200dnot permitted. ERIC uses the \u200bdata to identify eligible but \u2063unregistered \u200bvoters and\u2062 requires participating states\u2064 to use these lists\u2062 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/billionaire-mega-donor-at-center-of-hunter-biden-art-sales-raises-ethics-concerns\/\" title=\"Billionaire Mega-Donor At Center Of Hunter Biden Art Sales Raises Ethics Concerns\">encourage voter registration<\/a>. The plaintiffs argue that voter registration drives are political activities \u200dand should not be the role of the \u200dgovernment.<\/p>\n<p>Minnesota&#8217;s membership agreement with ERIC also permits the\u200b sharing of private driver data with ERIC&#8217;s\u2062 agents,\u2063 contractors, and subcontractors. To address these \u200bconcerns, the plaintiffs are requesting that the court issue a temporary restraining order \u200cor preliminary injunction to prevent the Secretary of State from\u200b sharing their \u2063private data while the litigation is pending.<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota Department of State declined to comment on the \u2063pending \u200clitigation, according to Press Secretary\u200c Cassondra Knudson.<\/p>\n<p>This lawsuit raises \u2063important questions about the balance\u200c between maintaining accurate voter\u2063 rolls and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/montana-becomes-first-state-to-completely-ban-tiktok-after-national-security-privacy-concerns\/\" title=\"Montana bans TikTok over security and privacy concerns.\">protecting citizens&#8217; privacy<\/a>. The outcome of this case \u200bcould have\u2064 significant implications for\u2063 voter registration practices in Minnesota and potentially other \u200dstates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A lawsuit accuses Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon of violating federal law by sharing citizens&#8217; private information with a third party to clean the voter&#8217;s roll. While this case is specific to Minnesota, other states are also engaging in similar practices. Individuals obtaining a state driver&#8217;s license are affected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":2065721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2065720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2065720"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065720\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2065721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2065720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2065720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2065720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}