DOJ opened investigation into Utah Lt. Gov. Henderson over refusal to share voter rolls

The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division sent Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson a letter dated Friday, September 4, 2026, notifying her that she was "currently under investigation and ongoing litigation" over her office's compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act, after she continued refusing to turn over Utah's complete voter registration rolls to the federal government. The letter warned that Henderson's "failure to preserve relevant data may constitute spoliation of evidence, which may subject you to civil and criminal sanctions," but gave no further detail on what the investigation covered.

The letter followed a prior DOJ lawsuit against Utah seeking the same voter data and a threat, in July 2026, to pursue criminal prosecution over Henderson's refusal to comply. It is part of a broader nationwide campaign in which federal officials have sued more than two dozen states for statewide voter-roll data and been rejected by courts more than 20 times.

Henderson, a Republican, posted the letter publicly on September 9 and responded: "It would be nice if the good folks at the DOJ would focus on actual problems instead of baselessly harassing election officials." Her office had separately stated that "neither state nor federal law entitles the Department of Justice to collect private information on law-abiding citizens." Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero, a Democrat, publicly thanked Henderson for resisting the demand.