Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts voted to confirm Harmeet Dhillon to run the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, which demanded full voter files, including driver's license and partial Social Security numbers, from nearly every state. Nebraska is one of 16 states that handed over its complete list, and the department then disclosed voter records to the DHS, which used them to attempt immigration enforcement; on October 9, 2026 a federal judge ruled that the policy violates voter privacy and illegally intrudes on states' authority over elections.
Ricketts also voted to confirm Kristi Noem and Joseph Edlow, whose agencies turned a benefits database into a bulk voter check that wrongly flagged citizens, and Pam Bondi and, with a deciding vote, Todd Blanche, whose Justice Department sued 30 states and Washington, DC for their voter files.
Pete Ricketts's Confirmation Votes and the Voter-Data Demands That Followed
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm Harmeet Dhillon, Whose Division Collected Nebraska's Voter File. On April 3, 2025, Pete Ricketts voted to confirm Harmeet Dhillon as assistant attorney general for civil rights, and she was confirmed 52 to 45. Her division demanded full voter files from the states, and Nebraska is among the 16 that handed over complete lists with driver's license and Social Security numbers, the Brennan Center tracker shows. Internal correspondence from the summer of 2026 confirmed that DOJ is disclosing voter records to the DHS for immigration enforcement. Under Dhillon the division's voting section dwindled from approximately 30 lawyers down to about 6.
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm the Attorneys General Whose Department Sued 30 States for Their Voter Files. Ricketts voted to confirm Pam Bondi as attorney general on February 4, 2025 and Todd Blanche as her successor on August 8, 2026; Blanche was confirmed 50 to 49, so the nomination would have failed without Ricketts's vote. Their department sued 30 states and Washington, DC for refusing to hand over voter lists with private data, and courts have dismissed 26 of those cases. On October 9, 2026 a federal judge ruled that its policy of comparing state voter lists against the SAVE database violates voter privacy and illegally intrudes on states' authority over elections.
- Ricketts Voted to Confirm the Officials Who Turned a Benefits Database Into a Voter Check. Ricketts voted to confirm Kristi Noem as secretary of homeland security on January 25, 2025 and Joseph Edlow as director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, which runs the SAVE database, on July 15, 2025. Their agencies expanded SAVE to check voter rolls in bulk, and in Boone County, Missouri, more than half of registered voters flagged by SAVE as noncitizens in November turned out to be citizens, the Brennan Center found.
What the Voter-Data Demands Under Officials Pete Ricketts Confirmed Mean for Nebraska Voters
- Voter data handed over. Nebraska gave the Justice Department its complete statewide voter list, including driver's license and Social Security numbers, one of 16 states to do so. The Brennan Center reports that the department is disclosing voter records to the DHS and that DHS is using them for immigration enforcement with Palantir's ELITE app.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pete Ricketts on Voting rights
What is Pete Ricketts's record on voting rights under Trump?
Pete Ricketts voted to confirm the Justice Department and Homeland Security officials who demanded state voter files, sued 30 states that refused, and ran voter rolls through a citizenship database that wrongly flagged citizens. Nebraska handed over its complete voter file, and a federal judge ruled in October 2026 that the department's policy violates voter privacy.
What did the officials Pete Ricketts confirmed do with Nebraska voter data?
Pete Ricketts voted to confirm the officials whose Justice Department collected Nebraska's full voter file; Nebraska is one of the 16 states that gave the Justice Department complete voter lists with driver's license and Social Security numbers, after a demand from the Civil Rights Division led by Harmeet Dhillon, whom Ricketts voted to confirm. The department has since shared voter records with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration checks, the Brennan Center reports.
Did Pete Ricketts vote to confirm Harmeet Dhillon?
Yes. Pete Ricketts voted on April 3, 2025 to confirm Harmeet Dhillon to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, by 52 to 45. Under her, the staff of the division's voting section fell to about 6 lawyers from about 30, the Brennan Center found.
Last updated: 2026-10-25