State Department Weighs Wider Sharing of Passport Records Ahead of Midterms

The U.S. State Department announced it is “assessing” how to share information from the Passport Services Records system with state and local election officials and certain nonprofit groups. The proposal would be formalized through a notice in the Federal Register, which the filing indicates could appear as early as October 22.

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The move follows a 6-3 Supreme Court decision scheduled for September 25 that permits the Department of Homeland Security to provide citizenship data to local governments for voter-registration verification. The Justice Department’s filing, submitted in a lawsuit brought by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee against former President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail voting, outlines the plan to begin using passport records to identify non-citizens on voter rolls. Earlier federal efforts relied mainly on Social Security Administration and DHS records, many of which were slowed or halted by court challenges.

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The filing cites the 1974 federal privacy law, which requires public notice before the government repurposes personal information such as names or Social Security numbers.

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Passport records contain personal details of every individual who has applied for a U.S. passport. Under the 1974 privacy statute, the Department must publish a notice in the Federal Register before expanding the use of this data. The proposed notice would allow the information to be accessed by federal agencies and other entities using federal verification systems for identity, citizenship, voter eligibility, and other governmental services.

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If the notice is published by the October 22 deadline, the State Department will proceed with rulemaking that could enable broader data sharing ahead of the November midterm elections. The outcome will likely be shaped by ongoing litigation and any further judicial rulings on the scope of voter-eligibility verification.

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