St. Paul, Minnesota — Widespread backlash erupted over the weekend after Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded access to Minnesota’s voter rolls as the state grappled with protests and unrest following the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents.
Bondi included the voter roll demand in a letter sent Saturday to Gov. Tim Walz, urging the state to “change course” on immigration enforcement. In addition to voter data, the letter sought records on Minnesotans receiving public assistance and called for the repeal of sanctuary policies. State officials and election experts said the voter roll request appeared unrelated to immigration enforcement and raised serious legal and privacy concerns.
During a court hearing Monday, an attorney representing Minnesota described the letter as a “ransom note,” arguing the request amounted to coercion as federal immigration agents surged into the state. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon rejected the demand, calling it an “outrageous attempt” to obtain private data on millions of residents in violation of state and federal law.
Minnesota is among nearly two dozen states facing similar Justice Department lawsuits seeking unredacted voter files, including partial Social Security numbers and driver’s license data. The DOJ has said the requests are tied to federal election laws, though judges in California, Georgia, and Oregon have recently dismissed or questioned those arguments, citing concerns about voter intimidation and federal overreach.
Critics argue the effort is aimed at undermining confidence in elections ahead of the midterms, while the Justice Department has not specified how the data would be used.
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