# Trump administration backs off voter data-sharing plan, for now  
**Published:** 2026-06-09T22:58:08.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/repub/homeland-security-retreats-on-plan-to-get-data-on-mail-in-voters/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/trump-administration-backs-off-voter-data-sharing-plan-for-now

The Trump administration is scaling back, at least temporarily, a plan to collect and share data on millions of Americans who vote by mail, according to a federal court filing released Monday by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The reversal came just days after the administration advanced the data-sharing plan last week under an executive order Trump signed on March 31 to restrict mail-in voting. The Justice Department significantly hedged the plan in the latest filing, casting the data-sharing proposal as still in preliminary stages and dependent on approval of a new U.S. Postal Service rule.

[According to the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/repub/homeland-security-retreats-on-plan-to-get-data-on-mail-in-voters/), the Department of Homeland Security memo signed Monday now says officials are only authorized to "continue preliminary conversations" with USPS about "potential data-sharing arrangements." The memo describes the voting data effort as dependent on legal and policy determinations DHS has not yet made.

The shift represents a potential legal strategy by the Trump administration, which has faced five lawsuits challenging the executive order. [The order directs the Department of Homeland Security to create lists of voting-age U.S. citizens and calls for the U.S. Postal Service to determine who may vote by mail](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/analyzing-presidents-executive-order-on-mail-voting), raising constitutional concerns.

Critics have questioned whether Trump has the authority to unilaterally reshape election administration. [The proposed USPS rules would require states to send the federal government lists of all registered voters to which they are sending mail-in and absentee ballots](https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/05/29/usps-mail-ballot-rules-trump-executive-order/) in federal elections.

For Nebraska specifically, the executive order carries extra significance. [Secretary of State Bob Evnen assured voters that the order would not affect Nebraska's primary election](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/04/01/trumps-mail-voting-order-wont-affect-nebraska-primary-election-evnen-says/), though he did not make the same assurances for the general election. [Nebraska is one of a dozen states that have handed over their complete voter lists to the Justice Department](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-voter-is-plaintiff-in-federal-lawsuit-challenging-release-of-sensitive-voter-data-to-doj/), a move that has drawn legal challenges from voting rights groups.

Election law experts say the administration may be trying to avoid losing court battles before the November midterms. Monday's retreat on the data-sharing language could help shield the administration from claims that it is actively implementing controversial provisions of the executive order.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/repub/homeland-security-retreats-on-plan-to-get-data-on-mail-in-voters/)
- [Brennan Center for Justice analysis of Trump's executive order on mail voting](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/analyzing-presidents-executive-order-on-mail-voting)
- [Votebeat reporting on USPS mail ballot proposal under Trump's executive order](https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/05/29/usps-mail-ballot-rules-trump-executive-order/)
- [Nebraska Secretary of State statement on Trump's mail voting order and Nebraska primary](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/04/01/trumps-mail-voting-order-wont-affect-nebraska-primary-election-evnen-says/)
- [Nebraska Public Media reporting on Nebraska voter lawsuit challenging voter data release](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/nebraska-voter-is-plaintiff-in-federal-lawsuit-challenging-release-of-sensitive-voter-data-to-doj/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/repub/homeland-security-retreats-on-plan-to-get-data-on-mail-in-voters/.