'ELECT' to Return DOB Data to Compliance
Decision reportedly brings full month and date-of-birth back to voter-list maintenance records required by federal statute. Plus, a veto list grows for VA Gov. Youngkin.
In a win for transparency in elections and voter-roll accuracy, Virginia’s Dept. of Elections (‘ELECT’) has apparently agreed to return full month and birth dates to voter-registration lists as required under federal statute.
The development comes after ELECT abruptly began withholding full date-of-birth data from client-service voter records in August, just three weeks before the start of the 2024 election in Virginia. The change left only year of birth in the records.
The change prompted a letter from the law firm Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) on behalf of EPEC in October. It alerted ELECT that the change violated federal law by withholding information critical to verifying the accuracy of the Commonwealth’s voter rolls. (See article below.)
RITE President and CEO Derek Lyons said in a statement at the time:
“Virginia must reverse course and comply with federal law, which requires it to produce full birthdates of every person registered to vote in the Commonwealth to groups like EPEC that request it.
“In fact, in 2012, a court ordered Virginia to do just that so organizations can better evaluate the accuracy of the state’s voter registration records. Virginia’s sudden policy change is part of a troubling trend of states trying to impair the ability of organizations to assess the currency and accuracy of their voter rolls. Courts have consistently blocked these unlawful attacks on transparency, and we are confident they will do so again here if Virginia does not quickly course correct.”
EPEC’s Jon Lareau, who volunteers as Chief Technology Officer and Executive Director for the nonprofit educational charity, recently added in an X post:
“We are happy to hear [ELECT] is now making the correct decision on this issue. We previously worked with RITE to notify ELECT of our intent to file litigation on this matter, and are happy to hear that the need for litigation can possibly be avoided. We remain cautiously optimistic and will monitor this closely and let everyone know if/when the DOB data is finally restored.”
We are told that the Youngkin administration heard out concerns that had been raised over the policy change and decided to return to the prior policy of full Date of Birth to include Month/Date/Year of Birth.
The development comes at a time when federal courts are striking down state regulations that effectively restrict the public’s right to inspect voter lists for compliance with election laws.
For example, election integrity group Judicial Watch just announced that a federal judge agreed with its lawsuit in Maryland to ensure the state makes critical voter-roll data available to public scrutiny.
In a statement, Judicial Watch said the court recognized “that restricting the use of the state’s voter rolls presented an obstacle to upholding federal voter roll maintenance as required by the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA).”
As several federal courts have recognized, the public records provisions of the National Voter Registration Act were intended to enhance the ability of private groups to monitor whether states are removing ineligible voters from their voter rolls.
In the meantime, Lareau’s analysis of voter-records using just the year of birth continues. For example, the chart below shows potential “clone” matches (duplicates) after an analysis of Virginia’s official Registered Voter List from January of 2025.
We are monitoring records to see when the change to full month and date of birth to voter records is restored.
In the meantime, EPEC Team and its board of directors are grateful to RITE’s assistance, and the administration, for the policy change that supports voter-roll accuracy and public trust in election management. #
Veto Watch is on in Virginia for Problematic Election Bills
Gov. Glenn Youngkin has until 11:59 PM Monday, March 24, to act on close to 1,000 bills passed by the General Assembly and sent to his desk.
Virginia Institute Action is among many citizen groups raising awareness of the bills that came out of the Democrat-led Virginia General Assembly.
The group has produced one-pagers on each of the bills that explain why they are concerning to voter-roll accuracy, transparency. The list can be accessed here.
(See image below which lists the bills in question.)
So far, Gov. Youngkin has signed bills that promote economic growth. Election integrity groups are on the watch to see which ones are in the next batch, and which election bills meet his veto pen. #
SAVE Act in Congress expected week of March 31.
Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) reintroduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act in early 2025, which requires individuals to provide proof of citizenship to vote. (H.R. 22, 119th Congress).
It also makes federal databases more accessible to states so they can remove ineligible non-citizens from voter rolls. The latest on the bill is that it is expected to be taken up the week of March 31.
EPEC Team is on the watch and will be covering the bill’s journey in Congress. #