Pennsylvania says it will not hand over voter rolls to federal government in reply to DOJ letter

Andrea Padilla, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 14, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

PHILADELPHIA – Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt stressed that the state was not in violation of any voting regulations in a response letter to a Department of Justice inquiry that threatened criminal charges over suspicions of noncitizen voting.

The letter, sent Monday, pushed back against the Trump administration’s insistence that allowing federal assistance in inspecting voter rolls was the best way to avoid criminal prosecution for “aiding and abetting the violation” of federal voting laws.

The Trump administration’s letter, sent on July 7, was addressed to voting officials in all 50 states and requested a reply within the week. Schmidt’s reply made it clear that Pennsylvania would not hand over voter rolls to the federal government and reiterated that voting regulations were followed meticulously.

“I take seriously the obligations under both federal and Pennsylvania law to ensure that only eligible voters have access to the ballot box and to see to it that Pennsylvania’s voter rolls are appropriately maintained and updated,” wrote Schmidt, an appointee of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.

“That means working with the election officials of our 67 counties who are statutorily responsible for voter list maintenance,” Schmidt said. “Be assured that these dedicated local officials, as well as our employees who serve at the Department of State, work tirelessly to ensure that Pennsylvania’s voter rolls are accurately maintained.”

Pennsylvania officials have warned since last year that turning over the voter rolls to the federal government without redactions could put sensitive information at risk.

The DOJ letter comes after President Donald Trump’s long history of spreading voter fraud conspiracy theories and falsely claiming that he won the 2020 election.

Schmidt, who used to serve as Philadelphia’s Republican city commissioner, first found himself at odds with the Trump administration when he pushed back on the president’s claims of voter fraud.

“I have seen the most fantastical things on social media, making completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all,” Schmidt told CNN in 2020.

Following his refusal to give merit to the fraud allegations, Trump blasted Schmidt on X, which led to threats against the election official, Schmidt testified to the Jan. 6 House Committee in 2022.

In his capacity as Philadelphia city commissioner, Schmidt in 2017 identified a glitch in PennDot’s system that had allowed 168 non-citizens to register to vote.

But noncitizen voting does not happen at a rate that would change presidential election results, Schmidt emphasized in a recent interview with VoteBeat.

“One thing that became very clear through that research and all evidence suggests that non-citizens voting in elections in the United States occurs very rarely,” Schmidt said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s not important. Like I said before, every vote is precious, and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to safeguard and strengthen election integrity. But there’s no evidence to suggest that it happens in any widespread way whatsoever.”

While Schmidt’s letter did not grant the Trump administration access to voter rolls, it did link to the state’s most recent voter registration report, which outlines the outcomes of officials’ efforts to keep the rolls accurate.

According to the report, 338,000 voter registrations were canceled in 2025, most of them because the voter died or moved. In around 120 cases, a registration was recalled because an official found the person was ineligible to vote.

“We [Pennsylvania Department of State] have worked closely with the Department of Justice on matters that have led to criminal charges as recently as this year,” Schmidt wrote in reply to the DOJ. “The Department consistently cooperates with our state and federal partners in their investigations to help ensure that only eligible voters are registered and able to cast ballots in our Commonwealth.”