Montana lawmakers are demanding details about voter data shared by Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen with the federal government. The State Administration and Veterans Affairs Committee voted 10-1 to subpoena Jacobsen for information regarding the voter registry data given to the U.S. Department of Justice in 2025. Federal officials sought this data to review noncitizen and deceased voters.
In a 2025 request, the Department of Justice sought unredacted voter data from 48 states, including Montana, for noncitizen voting reviews. President Trump has repeatedly claimed, without evidence, that noncitizen voters affected the 2020 election results against Joe Biden. Rep. Kelly Kortum, D-Bozeman, expressed frustration over Jacobsen’s delayed compliance with the committee’s requests for clarity.
Montana’s response to federal information demands is unique as Jacobsen avoided a lawsuit by mostly complying, unlike some states that refused and faced legal battles. The Justice Department lost its initial 23 lawsuits, arguing for voter data under the Help America Vote Act, which lacks enforcement provisions for unredacted data sharing.
Federal authorities asked for Montana’s complete voter file, including driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers, sparking concerns over privacy and states’ rights. Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, stated Montana shared most of the requested information, preserving voter privacy by withholding driver’s license numbers. Jacobsen complied under pressure to protect Montana from DOJ litigation.
The SAVE program, a Homeland Security database, is central to the controversy. It matches voter data against immigrant status, but is criticized for misidentifying citizens as noncitizens. The Campaign Legal Center’s Sejal Jhaveri highlighted the risk of creating a national voter database, as states like Texas provided unredacted data. Montana’s SAVE program flagged 23 potential noncitizen voters after Jacobsen initiated an agreement to use the system.
In 2026, a federal judge ruled running voter rolls through SAVE unlawful, leading to erroneous voter purges. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan emphasized the infringement on privacy rights, blocking the system’s use as applied by Montana and others. Concerns about identity theft and a national voter database emerged from transferring sensitive information like Social Security numbers to federal agencies without stringent controls.
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