Letter to Kim Westbrook Strach, Executive Director of the State Board of Elections - Adams Calls on NC State Board of Elections to Protect Voter's Privacy and Security

Letter

Dear Ms. Strach,

In light of the "Presidential Commission on Election Integrity's" (The Commission) unprecedented request for voter roll data that includes full names, dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers, I urge the North Carolina State Board of Elections (State Board) to reconsider its plans to comply. The State Board's decision has the potential to legitimize false and unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud while endangering the privacy of millions of North Carolinians.

As of the date of this letter, there are 26 states that have fully rebuffed the Commission's request for data. Half of these states voted for President Trump in the last election, many of which passed or attempted to pass strict laws that suppressed access to the ballot. Refusal by such a bipartisan coalition of states illustrates that the Commission's request is more a ruse than a substantive inquiry into voting procedures.

The Commission's sole purpose is to promote the Trump Administration's false assertion that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2016 Election. According to your own investigation, there were 508 individuals who cast ineligible ballots last November. This represented "a tiny fraction" of the 4.8 million voters who participated in North Carolina elections, according to the State Board's report. Despite these facts, the Trump Administration has continued to perpetuate this myth, while also appointing like-minded officials to offices that oversee voting procedures. Compliance with this request would support the Administration's fabricated claims and strengthen their hand in sanctioning voter suppression tactics. Given North Carolina's own history of voter suppression, we cannot lend credence to these schemes.

Furthermore, while acknowledging your assurance that personal voter data such as Social Security and driver's license numbers will not be included in any release, I express my concern at the possible implications of complying with this order. The Commission has asked that voter information be supplied through an online portal. At a time when our intelligence community is certain that the Russian Federation is attempting to influence our election process through cyber-hacking, any online transmission of election data is particularly irresponsible. Indeed, the State Board is actively investigating an attempt to compromise voting software that was used in 21 North Carolina counties last November. The existence of such a large compilation of data will likely be a target for hackers.

The views expressed here mirror those of civic organizations such as the Brennan Center for Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. I ask that you consider these arguments, as well as the concerns of North Carolinians who have reportedly asked to have their names removed from our state's voter rolls due to worries about the confidentiality of their personal information.

In closing, I urge you to put the interests of North Carolinians first and refuse to comply with the Commission's request. I look forward to your prompt response.

Respectfully,

ALMA S. ADAMS

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