President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is asking the top election official in the key battleground state of Michigan for access to voter registration records and demanding information about its efforts to kick ineligible voters off the rolls.
The department’s outreach to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in the form of a letter her office received Monday from two lawyers in DOJ’s civil rights division, is the latest development in the Trump administration’s effort to gather data on voters around the country.
Officials in multiple states, including battlegrounds Arizona and Wisconsin have reported receiving information requests from the DOJ in recent weeks. The moves have unsettled some election officials who have faced threats and harassment recent years as conspiracy theories about election fraud have ballooned.
Michigan, a perennial swing state, is home to a closely watched US Senate race next year to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and several battleground US House contests. Michiganders also will choose a new governor in 2026 to replace the state’s term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately respond to a CNN inquiry Wednesday. Benson spokesperson Angela Benander said agency officials are “still reviewing” the DOJ’s request.
Trump reclaimed Michigan last year after losing it in the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden. After his 2020 loss, Trump allies fueled baseless conspiracies about massive voter fraud in deep-blue Detroit and claims that rigged voting machines had manipulated results in some rural counties.
Benson, who has vocally defended the integrity of elections in the state, is among the Democratic candidates running for governor next year.
Monday’s letter asked Benson for a range of information, including providing an electronic copy of the state’s “computerized statewide voter registration list” and spelling out steps for removing ineligible voters. It demanded the information within 14 days.
Separately, Benson’s office also received an email earlier this month from the Justice Department’s criminal division, seeking a “potential information-sharing agreement” on people who may have committed election fraud in the state, according to a copy shared with CNN.
Benander said state officials have not yet responded to that inquiry.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
