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by WILL FOLKS
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The South Carolina State Election Commission (SCVotes) has reportedly entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the release of the Palmetto State’s voter database.
The agency’s governing commission will formally enter into this agreement – and announce its general terms to the public – at its next scheduled meeting, which is tentatively set for 2:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday (April 28, 2026). SCVotes will then reportedly release the data in a protected format to the feds no later than Friday (May 1, 2026).
Sources familiar with the deal say it was spearheaded by former SCVotes’ chairman Dennis Shedd, who stepped down from his post earlier this year after guiding the agency through tumultuous times (including the termination of its two top appointed officials last fall and their subsequent arrests on criminal charges).
Thanks to Shedd, a former federal judge, South Carolina appears to have earned concessions from DOJ secured by few other states. Early on in the process, Shedd reportedly adopted a hard line – arguing that he and his fellow commissioners had a duty to protect the privacy of the data. His insistence on that point appears to have resulted in DOJ agreeing to modify its initial proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the state – something the agency initially vowed it would never do.
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According to sources familiar with the deal, the state plans to share its data with the feds via “hashing” – a unique digital fingerprint that transforms data into nondescript, fixed-length strings of letters and numbers than cannot be reversed or decoded. This “hashing” process – which is more secure than encryption – will allow all parties to the agreement to verify that the files in question have not been tampered with.
Officials insist this method will provide maximum security while allowing the Palmetto State to fully comply with the federal mandate for this data.
The battle over South Carolina’s voter file began back in March of 2025 when the administration of president Donald Trump requested the names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security digits of more than 3.3 million registered voters in the Palmetto State — data the DOJ deemed essential in enforcing Trump’s March 25, 2025 executive order targeting “non-citizen voter registration.”
“Free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion are fundamental to maintaining our constitutional Republic,” Trump wrote in his order. “The right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.”
Democrats fired back at Trump, with S.C. Democratic Party (SCDP) chairwoman Christale Spain calling the request “an unacceptable, unprovoked invasion of privacy and a dangerous example of federal overreach.”
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While much of the data sought by the feds is publicly available, the request for drivers’ license and Social Security data prompted significant privacy concerns at the state level. Nonetheless, governor Henry McMaster and other ranking Republicans urged the state to comply with Trump’s request.
The ensuing battle exploded last summer when S.C. Senate minority leader Brad Hutto filed a lawsuit blocking the state from releasing the information. Hutto prevailed, too – at least temporarily.
Days after an initial court ruling prevented the state from releasing the list, though, the S.C. supreme court intervened and struck down the lower court order – paving the way for the state to release the data. Despite this green light, negotiations between SCVotes’ officials and the feds dragged on for another six months – with several GOP legislative leaders jumping into the fray against the feds. According to our sources, these legislative leaders have reluctantly agreed to the data deal SCVotes is announcing this week.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we continue to track this hot-button election integrity battle…
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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