Alaska Voters’ Privacy: A Big Question

Alaska has long prided itself on reliable, honest elections—an image that now faces a serious challenge.

The Incident

• December 2025: Alaska’s lieutenant governor granted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) access to private voter data, including names, birth dates, addresses, and portions of driver’s license or Social Security numbers.
• Legal Breaches: This action violates Alaska’s constitution, the federal Privacy Act of 1974, and foundational principles that keep elections under state control.

The Rationale

• Stated Goal: Identify illegal votes from non‑citizens.
• Reality Check: Voter fraud in Alaska and nationwide is exceedingly rare.

The DOJ Plan

1. Check the rolls for suspicious entries.
2. Return a list of flagged voters to Alaska.
3. Remove those names from the voter database.

Lieutenant Governor’s twist: She will only mark flagged voters as inactive, not delete them. If a voter appears on the list, it becomes their burden to prove they should remain active.

Lessons from Other States

• States that used federal databases have seen citizens fight to keep their names on the rolls.
• Alaska offered no clear safeguards for protecting sensitive data once it entered federal hands.

Key Questions

• Why did Alaska’s top official consent when other states resisted?
• Who will actually access these files?
• How will the data be protected from hackers or misuse?
• How many honest voters might be wrongly flagged?

Call to Action

The League of Women Voters in Alaska demands:

• Transparency: Full disclosure of the data-sharing process.
• Accountability: Clear explanations for decisions made.
• Privacy Protection: Robust safeguards against misuse.

The public deserves answers—and a protection of their voting rights.