Skip to content

Friday, Aug 7, 2026

Can anyone buy Wisconsin voter roll data?

Laura Schulte / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Watch
yes

Wisconsin’s voter list from the state elections commission is available to the public — and to foreign countries — for a $12,500 fee. 

In a primetime speech on July 16, 2026, President Donald Trump said voter data had been “bought, stolen or hacked by China” in 18 states following the 2020 election. 

Wisconsin’s voter list is not known to have been hacked, and state election officials say election systems are secure. 

The voter list available from the Wisconsin Elections Commission includes names, addresses and whether a person voted in recent elections, but excludes other personal information such as date of birth, driver’s license number and Social Security number.

State laws don’t apply limits to how that data can be used once it is purchased, according to Wisconsin Legislative Council guidance. Buyers can use it “to contact individuals for any purpose.”

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by newsrooms in the Gigafact network.

See all fact briefs

Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.

Learn More

Latest Fact Briefs

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.