By not collecting personal identifying information, New York is violating federal law.

(Alexandria, VA) – October 4, 2022: Today, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) released a research brief detailing the millions of registered voters in New York missing personal identifying information (PII) and the problems this causes for voter list maintenance.

The Foundation’s analysis of New York’s voter roll found that 3.1 million registered voters in New York are missing PII– such as a social security number or a driver’s license number. Missing PII makes it extremely difficult for New York election officials to verify when people have died or moved. This missing information makes it nearly impossible to have effective voter list maintenance.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) prohibits states from accepting a voter registration unless the voter registration contains a unique identifying number such as the last four digits of a social security number or driver’s license number. The Department of Justice oversees HAVA enforcement and therefore, needs to act quickly in order to fix this crucial issue.

“States should be performing data entry competently,” said PILF President, J. Christian Adams. “New York has a list of all registered voters affected by this problem and can immediately get to work to fix it. The Department of Justice should be the entity enforcing federal list maintenance obligations against New York, not private charities.”

Access the full research brief here.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. PILF has brought lawsuits and won victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.

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For media inquiries, please reach out to Lbowman@publicinterestlegal.org