I'm pretty sure that's a reference to the midterm elections in November 2026
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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As a non American I have to ask: What the hell is a voter database? :o
Aussie here, it sounds similar to our Electoral Roll.
You show up, they tick your name off (we have compulsory voting), give you the ballots and you vote anonymously and / or draw penises, drop it in the box, waltz off in search of sausages.
Basically, but replace it's compulsory with "you have to choose to register and certain things like felonies can take away your eligibility"
European here, i think that is how it works in most democratic countries but not how it works in the usa. You have to register to vote there and afaik you don't register at the government but at the party you want to vote for. But i could be wrong. I want to be wrong.
You register with the election commission (the government) but in order to vote in party primaries, you have to register as their party. You're free to register as an independent.
You either register with the Post Office(USPS) or with your city's/county's/state's government. For California you can see the registration form and options here(just click register and say yes and you'll see the form with options): https://registertovote.ca.gov/
You register to vote and, depending on state/county, you choose what party you belong to(Republican, Democrat, No Party, Green Party, etc.). You may need to register with a specific political party because of open vs. closed primaries where you MUST be a registered Republican to vote in the Republican primary and/or register Democrat to vote in the Democrat primary, etc.
California has a good website/page with more details: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/political-parties/no-party-preference/
Again, different states have different ways of doing things.
Registration streamlines voting in that you don't need to bring ID, proof of eligibility, and residency to the polling place. You just show up and they check your signature.
Party declaration determines what party's primary you can vote it. It's to prevent people from casting spoiler votes to help a weak opposition candidate win their primary. Not all states do this: some ask which ballot you want at the polling place.
But...they still have to check that it's you who is showing up, so you still need an ID with photo or not?
You don't need ID -- they just ask you your name/address, check they have you registered, and check your signature against the one you gave when you registered to vote. If you're not registered you do need ID and proof of residence.
The current system gives you time to gather the required documents and recourse if the local government rejects it. It limits the ability of the people at the polling to turn you away.
It starts to make more sense when you consider all most people have are state issued IDs, combined with our political history of disenfranchisement -- particularly in the Jim Crow era.
Why are state issued IDs a problem?
I don't see a problem with getting a notification per mail some weeks before an election, which I then bring to the voting boot together with my ID where they check it with their list.
A list of people eligible to vote in an election
Most countries call that "all citizens over 18". I know I could go to Wikipedia for this, but can someone from the US please explain me how voting actually works over there?
Those convicted of certain felonies, those diagnosed with certain mental disabilities, non-citizens (such as those with only permanent resident status) and residents of non-incorporated territories (such as Guam and Puerto Rico) cannot vote in federal elections and individual states (and territories) have different potential exclusion criteria.
You have to register yourself to vote, it's not automatic. Some people never register, others are removed from the the registry due to crimes or other things a state might have decided to disqualify someone from voting, though usually that's just a flimsy pretense because the Republicans have a long stories history of just purging minorities/Democrat voters from lists because that will help them win
I mean first of all they want a list so they know you are in fact a citizen over 18 and also that you haven’t already voted.
Also the database includes logistical things like your mailing address for election related mail like mail-in-ballots, and your assigned voting location for states that do that.
Also it includes your party affiliation if you choose to list one so they know which primary you are going to participate in. It’s important to note the system of parties and primaries is somewhat informal because it’s technically not an official legal part of the system, it’s just people with similar political ideas organizing together to get their candidate a better chance.
So they don’t contain the actual vote, only the data of which of the two parties are you affiliated with. So in an election that has one candidate each like presidential it’s quite easy to figure out who you quite likely voted.
There are more than 2 parties.
Gonna simplify a bit here...
There are two main election cycles: the mid-terms and the presidential election.
Presidential elections take place every 4 years in November. 2024, 2028, etc. This also includes a "primary" that starts sometime around March-April, where the candidates for the Democrats and the Republicans are voted for and chosen to then "compete in November. The primary votes are finalized at the respective DNC and RNC conventions.
The mid-terms take place every 4 years, but they are staggered between presidential election cycles. So, last presidential was 2024, so our mid-terms will be 2026. Next presidential is 2028, and the next mid-terms after that is 2030, rinse repeat.
Mid-terms and the presidential cycles are both very important as that is when certain Congressmen are up for election as Senate members are every 6 years and House is every 2 years.
Now, when a US Citizen registers to vote they will have the option to select a "political party preference". This doesn't just mean "Democrat" vs. "Republican", the person can also usually choose from Independent/No-Party-Preference, Green Party, etc. depends on the state. However, there are "closed" and "open" primaries depending on the state and political party. For example, if you are a registered Republican you can vote in the Republican primary but NOT the Democrat one and vice-versa. Some 3rd parties like the Green party can be allowed to vote in the Democrat party primary(open primary) but not the Republican one(closed primary). This is to prevent "sandbagging" or "party raiding", so Democrats can't directly influence Republican primaries and vice-versa. This party affiliation is really only used for primary candidate voting, not for measures or ordinances or anything. Everyone should be able to vote for local laws no matter their political affiliation.
Now, since I'm seeing this a lot on this thread. Your actual votes are NOT tied to your person whatsoever. The ballot we vote on does not have our name on it any other type of identifying markers. Now you can infer that a person registered with the Democratic party probably voted for the Democrat candidate, but the government does not(and practically can't) make a record of who you voted for.
Ok, now it makes sense. But if I understand it right if the Government gets the list of registered voters, they will have a pool of potential Democrat voters that they could harras/persecute.
Correct, that is a high possibility.
Personally you can probably make a list of Democrat voters without the voter registration logs(socioeconomic status, geolocation, education level, etc.). But I'm guessing they(the Trump administration) aren't smart enough to do that.
Why do they want this?
It usually lists known party affiliations and who people voted for that cycle.
It's an extermination list.
Adding on that they also want to overview how the elections are held in addition to the people eligable to vote. In other words: be able to control how Minnesotans vote.
Each state decides how to run its elections.
That last sentence is likely what most non-Americans do not understand. The federal government doesn’t have (and has no right to) this information because elections are administered by states. The way a state elects its federal representatives is variable(to a limited degree) but valid, as long as the state upholds its own rules and laws.
Correct
False
You register to vote and you select a party preference, so you can vote in that party's primary, but all votes are not tied to your individual person.
If you get a ballot in the mail(state dependent option), then you fill out your ballot and sign the back of the envelope that contains the ballot. The envelope is then turned into USPS or you take it to the registrar office, and drop it off. On voting day, ballot counters rip open the envelope, discard the envelope, and then your ballot(which has no markings or references to your individual person/identity) gets fed into a machine.
If you go in person to vote, same thing, you go to a voting location, they check your registration status(are you registered, party preference, etc.) and give you a ballot. You go into a voting booth, fill out the ballot, and then you drop the ballot off into a ballot box. Again, nothing on the ballot is marked or references your person.
Now you can make assumptions that a person registered as a Democrat voted for the Democrat running candidate, but there is no record of who you actually voted for UNLESS ballot counters make mental notes and go through your ballot for the mail-in-ballots, but again, there are people monitoring the ballot counters and I know some places use security cameras to make sure ballots aren't tossed/destroyed. No phones are allowed in the ballot counting area.