Trump claimed China collected 220 million U.S. voter registration files. But that data is easy to obtain in most states.

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July 17, 2026 / 6:19 PM EDT

/ CBS News

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President Trump made the alarming claim Thursday that China conducted what may be "the largest compromise of election data in history" with its "illicit acquisition of 220 million U.S. voter files." But voter data is accessible across all 50 states.Accessing voter rolls in all 50 statesTwenty states and Washington, D.C., will provide voter data with a simple public request, purchase or online download.Fifteen states allow access to voter rolls, but users must state a political or research purpose, have state residency, be a registered voter in the state, or sign a use agreement.Ten states primarily provide records through local election offices or supervised inspection, rather than an open statewide file.Five states limit voter-file access to specified groups, such as candidates, political parties, committees, news organizations or government officials.Voter data that is released to the public often includes registered voters' names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and political parties. Some more sensitive information is typically left confidential, including Social Security numbers.In his speech, the president said that China has the "names, addresses, phone numbers, political party preferences and other sensitive data that would be needed to register to vote and engage in other nefarious activities," which is not entirely true. Yes, they may have that data — however, that information alone is not enough to alter or create voter registrations.