The decision, which has been met with concern from civil and voting rights groups, comes as the commission sent letters this week to all 50 states requesting voter-roll data, including the name, address, date of birth, party affiliation, last four Social Security number digits and voting history.

Officials from states including California, Kentucky and Virginia have already announced their intentions to refuse the request, citing concerns over how the information would be used. Others, including from Connecticut, have said they would share publicly available information but nothing more.