We're Building A Better Tri-State Together
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Secretary of state sends every registered Indiana voters' personal information to federal government

Diego Morales stands in front of a large wooden door and speaks into a microphone. Morales is a Hispanic man with black hair. He is wearing a black suit, white shirt and red striped tie.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales said his office complied with a letter from the Trump administration and provided the personal information of the state’s registered voters — nearly 5 million Hoosiers — to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales said his office provided the personal information of the state’s registered voters — nearly 5 million Hoosiers — to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Morales said he’s complying with a letter from the Trump administration sent in recent weeks.

The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to many if not all states in the last few months, asking for officials to turn over voter roll information.

A few weeks ago, Morales said attorneys in his office were reviewing the request. Now, he said he’s turned over all the personal information the DOJ wanted.

“Everything we do has one purpose: to safeguard Hoosier elections and ensure only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections,” Morales said.

The information turned over to the Trump administration includes names, addresses, driver’s license numbers and the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers. It does not include voting history.

Other states have refused to turn over the information, citing privacy concerns.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.