Ryan Peterman seeks secretary of state records on voter data shared with DOJ

By Robin Opsahl
Iowa Capital Dispatch

Democratic Secretary of State candidate Ryan Peterman said Iowans “deserve answers” from Secretary of State Paul Pate on how voter data shared with the federal government is being used.

Peterman held a news conference Wednesday on the steps of the Iowa State Capitol, where he announced he was filing four public records requests through the Freedom of Information Act to obtain information on voter registration data provided by Iowa to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Pate, a Republican, announced in May that the state had complied with a DOJ request to turn over voter registration data, including personally identifiable information like driver’s license and Society Security numbers. Pate said the decision to provide this information to the federal government came after consulting with his office’s legal team, as well as the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, which confirmed the U.S. attorney general had the power to demand this information under the federal Civil Rights Act.

Peterman, who is running against Pate in the 2026 general election, said he has heard extensively from voters who are critical of Pate’s decision to share voter information with the federal government.

“As I travel all across Iowa on the campaign trail, the most common issue Iowans have raised for the past three months is their concern about their sensitive information being handed over to a partisan Department of Justice in the federal government,” he said. “I’ve heard from Iowans who are furious at our Secretary of State for doing this, who are worried about how their information will be used, and they’re right. Enough is enough. It’s time we all get some answers.”

In other states, some secretaries of state and attorneys general have reached a different conclusion and have refused the DOJ’s demands for this data. The federal department has then challenged these decisions in 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in court. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 16 of these cases have been dismissed.

Peterman said these court cases prove Pate’s office had reached the wrong conclusion.

“To date, there has not been a single judge that has ruled states are required to hand this information over to the federal government. Not a single one,” Peterman said. “It is very clear that Secretary Pate did not have to give away Iowans’ sensitive information. He chose to. Now, this personal data is already in the hands of the Department of Justice. There’s no going back from that. But as Iowans, we still deserve answers.”

Pate said in a statement that the SOS office “spent considerable time reviewing the Department of Justice’s request,” and determined using available information and the state’s legal guidance that it was the correct decision to comply with the request.

“This was not a decision we made lightly,” Pate said in a statement. “We were assured the data would be protected as required under federal law. The information we provided to the federal government included publicly available information and information generated and provided by government institutions. The Department of Justice is responsible for some of the nation’s most sensitive information, and we are confident they can protect this data accordingly.”

Pate also added, “we continue to remind the federal government that the U.S. Constitution places responsibility for election law and voter lists with the states, and we expect that to be respected as federal duties are carried out.”

The four public records requests, filed after the news conference, seek records from the SOS office in four categories: information regarding material provided to the DOJ in response to their request for voter registration data, communications between SOS staff and the DOJ, as well as between the SOS staff and the Iowa attorney general’s office, about the request, and internal memoranda, guidance and meeting materials “explaining how and why the office responded to the federal request.”

“These are straightforward, and I hope the Secretary of State’s office will comply so that Iowans can get some answers,” Peterman said. “But when and if we do get some transparency, this isn’t the end of this story. Paul Pate had the chance to fight for Iowans. Instead, he betrayed their trust. They failed to protect their personal information. That deserves accountability. It’s clear that it’s time for new leadership in this office, leadership that actually works for Iowans.”

The Democratic candidate also announced his “Public Service Agenda” at the news conference, listing pledges including protecting Iowans’ personal information, increasing transparency efforts and collaborating with local officials.

“This is the culture I want to bring to the Secretary of State’s office,” he said. “Iowans deserve transparency, they deserve accountability, they deserve a Secretary of State stands up and fights for that.”

This story was originally published July 22 on the Iowa Capital Dispatch website. Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.