ICE seeks a contractor to buy voter files from every state

What happened

The draft statement of work would have the contractor acquire one public voter registration file per year from each jurisdiction ICE names in writing, with public voter history files in scope where states publish them separately. In a section titled Navigating Legal Access (State Restrictions), the agency says that where state laws limit commercial data access but permit law enforcement use, DHS will send the state authorization letters on the contractor's behalf. A second section prohibits the contractor from collecting, processing or delivering party affiliation fields even when states include them, unless the contracting officer directs it in writing. A request for information does not commit an agency to buy anything, and no contract has been awarded.

Why it matters

The mechanism here is the seam between two access rules. The cited reporting documents states that limit who may obtain the voter file — Virginia and New Hampshire to campaigns, political action committees and parties, Minnesota and Maryland to registered voters within the state — while the agency's own draft says that where state law limits commercial data access but permits law enforcement use, DHS will send authorization letters designating the vendor as the department's acquisition agent. A purchase routed through a contractor while the agency supplies the law-enforcement letter reaches files that neither route would deliver on its own. The draft's bar on collecting party affiliation fields is itself waivable in writing by the contracting officer.

Receipt details

• Phase 1
• Build a surveillance machine
• Buy commercial data to skirt warrants