The Trump administration amped up the pressure on Minnesota to hand over voter data, with the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division sending a letter to Minnesota’s secretary of state demanding such records.

President Trump’s DOJ aims to stamp out alleged voting fraud, and this is one development among many in an effort to collect voter data from nearly every state.

The push began in the summer, when the department sent letters to about 40 states demanding unredacted records about nonpublic voter data to ensure states complied with the National Voter Registration Act, which requires voter registration list maintenance.

Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division, sent Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon the letter Friday, with a 15-day deadline.

Minnesota is an outlier in voter registration. Under state law, a registered voter can “vouch” for up to eight other voters’ residential status on the day of voting.

The registered voter must accompany them to the polling place and sign an oath verifying their address, according to the Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State.

As long as each vouched-for voter can prove residency, his or her ID can be a driver’s license, learner’s permit, passport, expired ID, military ID or Minnesota university or high school ID.

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