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Committee rejects bill to let state send voter list to credit bureau for address checks
Summary
A measure to let the Secretary of State submit limited voter data to a credit bureau for address verification failed in committee after months of pilots and spirited testimony for and against; supporters cited El Paso County pilots and lower undeliverable ballots; privacy groups warned of data quality and breach risks.
The committee voted down House Bill 11-04 on a narrow vote after a sustained hearing on whether the state should contract with a private credit bureau to compare limited voter fields and return potential address updates to county clerks.
What the bill would have done: Rep. Bradfield proposed that the Secretary of State submit a minimal dataset (first name, last name, year of birth and the voters recorded residential address) to a private credit bureau to identify possible address discrepancies and return suggested matches to county clerks for follow-up. Confidential-voter categories would be excluded.
Supporters and pilots: El Paso County and some smaller counties described operational pilots and said the tool substantially reduced undeliverable ballots and triggered voter-initiated updates. "We have used third party credit bureau data since 2023...we have reviewed approximately 91,084 records," said El Paso County Clerk Steve Schleicher.
Concerns: Privacy and civic groups, including Common Cause and America Votes, objected that private credit-bureau databases are built for credit-reporting, not elections, may contain inaccuracies, and have been subject to data breaches. Witnesses also flagged unequal effects on credit-invisible populations; a software engineer who testified said credit databases can generate false positives and repeated nuisance contact.
Outcome: After committee debate and testimony, the committee recorded a 6-5 vote against advancing the bill. Sponsors said they will continue discussions but the vote ends the bill in committee.
What to watch: Clerks and the Secretary of State may continue voluntary county-level pilots. The committee record shows both operational benefits in certain counties and significant reservations from privacy and civic groups.
