Government Workers and Election Doubters: A Risky Data Deal

A recent court filing has brought to light some concerning actions by employees of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It turns out that some of these workers had unauthorized chats and plans with a political group. This group wanted to look into voter lists to find supposed election fraud. The Social Security Administration (SSA), which oversees DOGE, admitted that these actions went against rules meant to protect people's private information. The political group involved is known for spreading false claims about the 2020 election. They even helped make a movie full of debunked conspiracy theories. The SSA hasn't found proof that actual data was shared, but the deal itself broke internal rules. This is worrying because DOGE has access to very sensitive information about millions of people.The group reached out to DOGE in early 2025, asking for help to check voter rolls. One DOGE employee even signed a data agreement with the group. The SSA only found out about this agreement during a routine check in November 2025. This shows a lack of oversight and raises questions about data security. The filing also revealed that DOGE team members used unapproved servers to share data. This makes it hard to track what information might have been exposed. The SSA has referred the employee involved for a review. This could mean they broke federal laws that stop government workers from doing partisan political activities. This news comes after the Supreme Court allowed DOGE to access SSA data. There is ongoing litigation about this access. The disclosure in the court filing supports concerns that protected data could be misused. It's a reminder that even government agencies can face risks when it comes to data security and ethical behavior.