PROVIDENCE, RI – Secretary of State Gregg M. Amore today released the following statement after replying to a letter from the United States Department of Justice:
"On July 7, I received a letter from the United States Department of Justice which claimed to be an offer of assistance in ensuring compliance with federal voting laws. The letter's true intention was obvious: to intimidate election officials in an effort to make us fall in line with the Administration's unconstitutional overreaches into election administration. This letter comes on the heels of failure after failure on their part. Whether in court or in Congress, the Administration has consistently met opposition – because in fact, they are the ones not complying with the law. Now, intimidation and bullying is all that's left in their playbook.
I am confident that elections in Rhode Island are administered in accordance with federal and state laws, including, but not limited to, Title III of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
The concerns outlined in the letter focus on states' voter rolls and our ability to maintain accurate voter lists. Voter list maintenance has been a continuous priority of my administration. In addition to our daily, weekly, and monthly maintenance efforts, in November of 2025, my office sent a voter list maintenance letter to all registered voters in the state – the first such statewide mailing in more than ten years.
I want Rhode Islanders to hear this directly from me: the actions of this Administration are intended to undermine your trust in our elections processes. This is unacceptable. Rhode Islanders should feel confident in the security of elections for many reasons, including those I have outlined below. And if Rhode Islanders have questions about our elections, I welcome that dialogue, and I encourage them to get answers directly from election officials at the state and local level.
Individuals registering to vote – whether online or via a paper form – attest that they are a citizen under penalty of perjury.
Rhode Island undergoes regular voter list maintenance efforts. In November 2025, the Department sent a voter list maintenance letter to all active registered voters in Rhode Island. This was the first such statewide mailing in more than ten years. You can learn more about the mailing at sos.ri.gov/mailing, and about all of our daily, weekly, and monthly voter list maintenance efforts online at vote.ri.gov.
Rhode Island is a participant in information-sharing agreements intended to keep voter lists up-to-date and identify potential instances of election fraud. Despite the misinformation that has been publicized about the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), the RI Department of State's Elections Division has found ERIC to be an effective tool in both voter list maintenance and identification of potential instances of election fraud. Voter data used under these information-sharing agreements is anonymized and encrypted to protect the data privacy of all Rhode Island voters.
The mission of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice is to protect "the civil and constitutional rights of all persons in the United States by enforcing anti-discrimination laws." Perhaps one of the most fundamental rights of citizens of our nation is the right to vote – and I continue to be disturbed by the Administration's fixation on 'solving' problems that simply do not exist, and the lack of prioritization of efforts that actually secure our elections, such as fully funding the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
As with anyone who believes they have evidence of voter fraud or election security concerns, I ask that that information be provided to our office so that we can investigate accordingly. However, I am confident this letter is meant only to make me afraid to do my duty – ensuring all eligible Rhode Islanders are able to cast their ballot – and not based on any factual issue.
I will continue my work to ensure Rhode Island's elections are administered fairly, securely, and in accordance with the law."
To learn more about elections in Rhode Island, visit https://vote.sos.ri.gov/.
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