Attorney General Pam Bondi and other Department of Justice (DOJ) officials may have engaged in misconduct and abused their authority when the department sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz demanding that Minnesota provide access to its statewide voter rolls, Democracy Defenders Fund said today in a complaint filed with DOJ’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

The complaint asks the OIG to investigate whether Bondi and other department officials violated federal law by attempting to coerce Minnesota officials into turning over the state’s voter-registration database in exchange for easing up on ICE’s presence in the state. Bondi’s letter called for “three simple steps” to restore “law and order” in the state. Besides demanding access to voter rolls, Bondi’s letter also called on Minnesota to repeal so-called “sanctuary” policies and disclose sensitive social-service program data.

The DOJ’s demand came as an intensified federal immigration enforcement operation in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul region drew increased public protest in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed by federal agents during the enforcement surge. This week, the Trump administration announced it will begin withdrawing federal immigration agents from the Twin Cities amid mounting backlash and legal challenges. Still, Bondi’s letter raises broader questions about the administration’s motivations and reflects the Trump administration’s anti-democratic, unconstitutional attempts to “nationalize” elections, a goal the president acknowledged earlier this month.

“The Trump administration is not merely casting doubt on our elections, it is pursuing policies that functionally suppress votes, particularly in communities perceived as politically unfavorable,” said Diamond Brown, senior policy counsel at Democracy Defenders Fund. “What happened in Minnesota is particularly galling. As Minnesotans were reeling from an ICE escalation that destabilized their communities and resulted in the deaths of two of their own, the government essentially promised to ease up in exchange for voter data.”

The complaint states that DOJ demanded Minnesota’s voter-registration database without a subpoena, court order, or clearly articulated statutory authority. Minnesota law safeguards sensitive voter information, including personally identifiable data. The complaint argues that the DOJ’s sweeping request is akin to a fishing expedition rather than a legitimate enforcement action grounded in a specific statutory violation. It further contends that demanding voter data under the guise of investigating unrelated policy issues improperly intrudes on the state’s constitutional authority over election administration. Linking voter-registration data to federal law-enforcement activity, the complaint warns, risks chilling lawful voter participation.

“If federal officials believe a state has violated election law, there are established legal processes that must be followed to address that. Coercion is not one of them,” said Virginia Canter, director and chief counsel for ethics and anti-corruption at DDF. “Data about voters is not and should not be a political bargaining chip.”

Read the complaint HERE

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.