Gillette, Hoffman Call on ASU to Uphold Public Trust

On Sunday, October 6, 2024, ASU College Republicans took to X, alleging, “Election Interference: 70,000 Arizona State students received a text from the Kamala Harris campaign, using data allegedly obtained from the Arizona state database, which is supposed to remain confidential.” Just hours later, similar claims emerged, suggesting that the campaign’s messages targeted up to 150,000 students across both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona. The apparent breach raised severe concerns about the potential misuse of confidential student data and fueled further debate over election integrity.

🚨MAJOR BREAKING: 150,000 students from ALL Arizona universities including ASU and UofA have received a text from Kamala Harris’ campaign telling the students to vote for her.

If Kamala Harris has access to all of Arizona college students’ phone numbers, what ELSE do they have? pic.twitter.com/YlolDGSr9T

— College Republicans at ASU (@asu_gop) October 6, 2024

Representative John Gillette (R-LD30) issued the following statement to the Arizona Globe:

“We are deeply disappointed to learn of Arizona State University’s potential involvement in political affairs, particularly in support of the Democratic Party, which may have involved the misuse of taxpayer funds. The recent incident where the Kamala Harris’s campaign sent unsolicited text messages to a large number of ASU students, potentially violating federal TCPA laws and privacy regulations, raises serious concerns about the misuse of confidential data. This comes on the heels of an ASU Center for the Future of Arizona, a 501C3 partnering with High Ground lobbyist to push Proposition 140, and the closure of the Lake Havasu campus.”

Gillette continued, “ASU has a responsibility to uphold the trust of its students and the public. Instead, we see allegations of the university’s involvement in political agendas despite ongoing budget cuts and yearly tuition increases. This purported unlawful release of private data is unacceptable and undermines the integrity of our educational institutions. We call for a comprehensive forensic audit of ASU’s budget and a full investigation by the Attorney General to ensure accountability and transparency. It is imperative that we address these issues promptly to restore trust and ensure that taxpayer funds are used for education not politics.”

State Senator Jake Hoffman, Chair of the Freedom Caucus, took to X/Twitter with a bold accusation, posting on X, “KAMALA EXPLOITS PRIVATE STUDENT DATA FOR CAMPAIGN.” He further asserted, “It is ILLEGAL for political campaigns to access personally identifiable information (PII) of public university students in Arizona. This is a MAJOR security breach! I will be launching a full Senate investigation immediately.” Hoffman’s post underscores the growing concerns about the legality and ethical implications of the Kamala Harris campaign’s alleged use of sensitive student data for political outreach.

It remains unclear how the Harris-Walz campaign obtained and sent text messages to students. In Arizona, federal law, specifically the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and state-specific privacy laws tightly regulate public university release of student information. The regulations protect student data from unauthorized use.

This is a developing story to watch closely.