DOJ issues sweeping request for voter rolls in nine states, including Colorado

Driving the news: The DOJ has asked for copies of voter rolls from at least nine states, the Washington Post scooped.

• Meanwhile, separately, a political consultant named Jeff Small — claiming to act on behalf of the White House — has contacted "more than half a dozen" Republican county clerks in Colorado, per the Post, asking if the federal government or a third party could physically inspect their election equipment.
• Small is the former chief of staff to Colorado U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Windsor).

What they're saying: All clerks who Small contacted reportedly rejected his request. "To me, it felt like they were wanting to intervene before 2026," Fremont County Republican clerk Justin Grantham told the Post.

• Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, told the Denver Post the data request was unusually extensive and unique to Colorado — noting that, to her knowledge, no other Republican clerks in any other blue states had been contacted for similar, sweeping access.
• She warned that unauthorized access to voting machines is illegal and can lead to felony charges.

The other side: In a statement to the Denver Post on Wednesday, Small said he was simply connecting federal officials with clerks at the request of people involved in a presidential executive order on election security.

• He said he wasn't paid and called the outreach voluntary — motivated by what he called Griswold's "security debacles."

The big picture: The Justice Department has requested voter lists from a mix of Republican- and Democratic-controlled states, including Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, per the Post.