Why It Matters
South Carolina election officials will release voter registration records to the Department of Justice under an agreement that resolves a yearlong standoff over privacy protections and federal data requests. The deal uses security measures state officials say will protect sensitive information while complying with a presidential directive on election integrity.
The South Carolina State Election Commission will formally approve the agreement at a public meeting scheduled for Tuesday and deliver the database to federal authorities by May 1.
What Happened
Election commissioners negotiated an arrangement that allows the state to transmit voter records using hashing, a digital security method that converts data into fixed-length character strings that cannot be decoded. Officials say this approach addresses privacy concerns while satisfying federal requirements.
The commission will announce terms of the deal at its April 28 meeting. Former chairman Dennis Shedd, who led negotiations before stepping down earlier this year, secured modifications to the Justice Department’s initial proposal after insisting the state had a responsibility to protect voter privacy.
The Justice Department originally requested names, addresses, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, and partial Social Security digits for more than 3.3 million registered South Carolina voters in March 2025. The request stemmed from a presidential executive order aimed at preventing noncitizen voter registration.
By The Numbers
The database contains records for 3.3 million registered voters. The agreement calls for data delivery by May 1, 2026. Negotiations between state officials and federal authorities lasted approximately six months after court rulings cleared the way for release. The deal uses hashing technology, which state officials describe as more secure than standard encryption.
Zoom Out
The Trump administration issued the executive order in March 2025, citing the need to protect election integrity and prevent illegal vote dilution. Similar data requests have gone to states nationwide, though few have secured the same modifications to federal requirements that South Carolina obtained.
Democratic officials criticized the request as federal overreach. State Senate minority leader Brad Hutto filed a lawsuit blocking the data release, winning an initial court order that was later overturned by the state supreme court. Governor Henry McMaster and Republican legislative leaders urged compliance with the federal request.
What’s Next
The election commission will vote on the agreement Tuesday. Assuming approval, the state will deliver hashed voter records to the Justice Department by the end of the week. Legislative leaders who opposed the federal request have agreed not to block the deal, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.