Mullin Asks DOJ to Review Voter Data Sharing Tied to Zuckerberg Nonprofit

The request tests whether federal privacy law governing motor vehicle records applies to election-administration nonprofits that received multimillion-dollar backing from a Zuckerberg-linked fund,...

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin sent a letter Wednesday to Attorney General Todd Blanche asking the Justice Department to review whether election-related nonprofit groups improperly received sensitive state motor vehicle and voter-registration data, according to the Washington Examiner.

At the center of the inquiry is the Electronic Registration Information Center, known as ERIC, a multistate data-sharing consortium that helps participating states identify voters who have moved, died, or registered in multiple jurisdictions. Mullin's letter raises the possibility that ERIC's data intake practices may have violated the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act, or DPPA, a 1994 statute that restricts how states may share personal information collected by motor vehicle agencies.

Mullin also identified nonprofit organizations with financial backing linked to a Mark Zuckerberg-connected fund as recipients of data under review, according to the Washington Examiner report. The specific dollar amounts received by each named nonprofit, and the precise identity of the Zuckerberg-linked entity referenced, were not fully detailed in publicly available portions of the letter as of publication. The letter itself, if entered into official correspondence records, would constitute the primary public document identifying those figures.

ERIC was founded in 2012 and is governed by a board of member states. As of mid-2024, membership had fluctuated after several Republican-led states withdrew, citing concerns about ERIC's data practices and alleged partisan influence. Those withdrawals were reported by multiple outlets including Politico and the Associated Press, and the membership roster is maintained in ERIC's publicly available annual reports.

The DPPA prohibits state motor vehicle departments from disclosing personal information, including names, addresses, and driver identification numbers, for purposes not explicitly authorized by the statute. Authorized uses include government functions, motor vehicle safety, and certain research activities. Whether the transmission of such data to a nonprofit voter-registration intermediary qualifies as an authorized use has not been adjudicated at the federal appellate level, making DOJ's response, if any, a potentially significant interpretive moment.

Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma who previously served in the U.S. Senate before his appointment as Homeland Security Secretary, addressed the letter directly to Blanche, a Trump appointee confirmed by the Senate in 2025. Neither the DOJ nor Blanche's office had issued a public response as of the time of the Washington Examiner report on September 4, 2026.

The involvement of Zuckerberg-linked funding in election administration has been a recurring point of political contention since the 2020 election cycle, when the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative contributed approximately $350 million to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit that distributed grants to local election offices. That figure is documented in CTCL's publicly filed IRS Form 990 for fiscal year 2020. Critics, primarily Republican legislators, argued the grants directed resources disproportionately to Democratic-leaning jurisdictions. Supporters, primarily Democratic officials and election administrators, argued the funds filled gaps created by underfunded election budgets during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several Republican-controlled state legislatures subsequently passed laws restricting or banning private funding of election administration. The specific Zuckerberg-linked nonprofit referenced in Mullin's 2026 letter appears to be a separate entity or a successor arrangement, though the precise organizational identity was not confirmed in available public records at the time of publication.

The DOJ's Civil Rights Division oversees federal election law enforcement, while the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and state attorneys general share enforcement authority over DPPA violations. A formal DOJ investigation, if opened, would likely be announced through a public filing or press release. No such announcement appeared in DOJ's public communications as of September 4, 2026.

Key facts that remain unknown include: the full text of Mullin's letter to Blanche, which would identify every named organization and specific alleged violation; the current membership list of ERIC as of September 2026; the precise dollar amounts and dates of any data transfers under review; and whether DOJ has opened a preliminary inquiry. The full letter, if transmitted on official department letterhead and logged through standard correspondence systems, would be obtainable through a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Homeland Security.