State election officials deal with data demands, staff tumult

Gov. Henry McMaster on Thursday won court approval to intervene in a lawsuit seeking to block South Carolina’s Election Commission from giving the personal data of 3.3 million voters to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) — a transfer he has said he supports.

At a Sept. 24 hearing, attorneys for Anne Crook, the Calhoun County voter who filed the lawsuit, argued McMaster was politicizing the case and exceeding his statutory authority over the independent commission by attempting to intervene.

But in a Sept. 26 statement, McMaster attorney Grayson Lambert rejected the allegation.

“This is not about politicizing anything,” Lambert told Statehouse Report. “This is about defending state law and helping ensure that state law is properly interpreted. The governor is not trying to inject himself into the commission’s negotiations with the DOJ.”

In a one-page written decision later that day, S.C. Circuit Judge Daniel Coble ruled McMaster’s inclusion was timely, relevant and unlikely to delay or prejudice the case — meeting the state’s “liberal” standard for third-party intervention.

Busy time

Coble’s ruling capped a remarkable eight days in which the Election Commission ousted its top two officials for what it said were unrelated personnel issues, and continued to negotiate with Trump administration officials over access to the sensitive voter records, which include Social Security and driver’s license numbers.

It also came on the same day the U.S. Department of Justice announced it was suing six more states, including California and Illinois, for failing to comply with similar data requests, bringing the total to eight — and underscoring the pressure on S.C. election officials.

“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a release. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”

But privacy-rights advocates argue the federal data demands — which they say now affect more than 30 states — are an improper infringement on states’ constitutional role in managing elections and will put citizens’ private data at risk of political misuse and criminal hacking.

‘Unprecedented’ overreach?

Despite vague references to “clean voter rolls” and “protecting American citizens from voting fraud and abuse” in press releases, federal officials have not clearly stated their reasons for requesting the voter data, critics say.

The Justice Department’s Aug. 6 letter to S.C. election officials, for instance, briefly mentions enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, but does not explain how surrendering the state’s voter file to federal officials would further that goal.

Voting and privacy advocates told Statehouse Report this week that they can’t see any clear connection between enforcing laws that require states to maintain accurate voter rolls over time and securing a one-time snapshot of voter data.

“Voter rolls are living documents that change every day,” said Eileen O’Connor, senior counsel with New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice in a Sept. 25 interview. “So the stated purpose just doesn’t make any sense.”

Instead, she argued, the Trump administration’s goal appears to involve the creation of “a national voter registration database” by “sweeping up” the private data of every voter in the country.

“This appears to be part of an unlawful attempted federal takeover of elections,” O’Connor said.

What’s more, that kind of national database would provide a convenient, one-stop-shop for criminal hackers, she noted.

“There are security issues when you amass data, because then a breach of that data is all the more damaging,” O’Connor said.

Federal officials have not directly addressed concerns about potential political abuse or hacking. But in a statement to Stateline earlier this month, an unnamed Justice Department official confirmed that the department is sharing the data with Homeland Security officials to allow “the American people to choose their leaders, not illegal aliens.”

Upheaval at the S.C. Election Commission

Meanwhile, as the federal data demands were playing out in courtrooms in S.C. and across the country, the state Election Commission was dealing with a more immediate issue — the sudden dismissal of its top two officials.

First, the commission voted 3-2 on Sept. 17 to fire Executive Director Howard Knapp, citing “a desire for new leadership.” Then, five days later, the commission fired its deputy executive director, Paige Salonich, after it said she was caught on a security camera placing an unauthorized listening device in the workplace. State Law Enforcement Division officers are reportedly investigating the incident.

Chief of Staff Jenny Wooten is now serving as interim executive director, according to Commission Chairman Dennis Shedd. A retired federal judge, he added in a Sept. 25 statement to Statehouse Report, “The commission’s leadership and staff remain dedicated to ensuring South Carolina’s elections are accurate, secure and accessible.”

That’s a message local officials, such as Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections Executive Director Isaac Cramer, were quick to endorse.

“The beauty of South Carolina elections is that they’re managed at the local level,” Cramer said in a Sept. 25 interview. “Voters in our county and across the state can rest assured because we stand at the ready and prepare for elections all year round.”

Proceedings in Crook’s lawsuit to block the state data transfer are scheduled to resume Sept. 26. As the case now moves forward with McMaster’s involvement, state election officials told Statehouse Report on Sept. 25 that they are waiting for a proposed memorandum of understanding from the Justice Department on the terms of a data-sharing agreement.