--- title: Bernie Sanders Campaign Wins Back Access to DNC Voter FIle description: The dispute threatens to overshadow the Democratic debate canonical: https://time.com/4155953/bernie-sanders-data-breach-dnc-voter-file/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-19T13:53:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-05T08:40:28.773Z article:section: Politics og:title: Bernie Sanders Campaign Wins Back Access to DNC Voter File og:description: The dispute threatens to overshadow the Democratic debate og:url: https://time.com/4155953/bernie-sanders-data-breach-dnc-voter-file/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltddc5a95a4e46292d/69887638ab6d7704336a7a90/bernie-sanders7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4706 og:image:height: 2647 og:image:alt: Bernie Sanders Joins Interfaith Roundtable At Washington D.C. Mosque og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bernie Sanders Campaign Wins Back Access to DNC Voter File twitter:description: The dispute threatens to overshadow the Democratic debate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltddc5a95a4e46292d/69887638ab6d7704336a7a90/bernie-sanders7.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bernie Sanders Campaign Wins Back Access to DNC Voter File > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=8367c1a1-de40-4724-a316-7506c7523a5a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Bernie Sanders' Access To DNC Voter Data Restored [Watch (HLS stream): Bernie Sanders' Access To DNC Voter Data Restored](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/u3XjZNVO.m3u8) (1:10)  _Published 2015-12-19. The DNC regranted Sanders' campaign access to voter data after it was accused of downloading Hillary Clinton's voter data during a security failure._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 19, 2015 1:53 PM UTC by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 19, 2015 1:53 PM UTC Bernie Sanders has settled a bareknuckled dispute with the Democratic Party over his campaign’s voter records, with the Democratic National Committee agreeing on Friday night to give the Sanders campaign back its access to its voter data. Both the DNC and the Sanders campaign claimed victory, saying they had come away with what they wanted in the vicious brouhaha that unfolded late this week. **Read more:** [_Bernie Sanders Declares War on Democratic National Committee_](http://time.com/4155942/bernie-sanders-voter-data-breach-lawsuit/?xid=homepage) “The Democratic National Committee on Friday capitulated and agreed to reinstate Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign’s access to a critically-important voter database,” the Sanders campaign said in a statement. “The Sanders campaign has now complied with the DNC’s request to provide the information that we have requested of them,” DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement. After four Sanders campaign staffers were accused on Thursday of inappropriately accessing Clinton campaign data, the DNC barred the Sanders from accessing its own all-important voter data. Seeking relief, the Sanders campaign filed a lawsuit to challenge the DNC and won back access shortly before midnight. Sanders’ access to the data would be restored by Saturday morning, the campaign said. The Sanders campaign did not say whether it would drop a lawsuit it filed against the DNC for monetary relief: the campaign estimated it would lose $600,000 a day without access to its voter file and its fundraising tools. **Read more:** [_Sanders Campaign’s Breach of Clinton Data More Serious Than Disclosed_](http://time.com/4155185/bernie-sanders-hillary-clinton-data/?xid=homepage) Now, the Sanders campaign will submit to an independent audit of its handling of the data it accessed, to ensure it no longer has the Clinton data it accessed. “We believe this audit should proceed immediately, and, pending its finding, we expect further disciplinary action to be taken as appropriate,” Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon said in a statement. The Clinton campaign had called early Friday evening on the Sanders campaign submit to an independent audit. “The only thing that is being asked of the Sanders campaign is to provide an independent access and validation that they’re not still in position of Clinton campaign data,” said Clinton campaign press secretary Brian Fallon. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz called the situation “completely unacceptable,” and Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook called it an “egregious breach” that endangered the campaign. But by playing hardball with the Sanders campaign, the DNC—and by extension, the Clinton campaign—risked arousing the anger of much of the Democratic base. **Read more:** [_Bernie Sanders Attracts Some Big Campaign Money Despite Denunciations_](http://time.com/4141201/bernie-sanders-superpac-money/?xid=homepage) Indeed, progressive Democrats came out in force to support Sanders on Friday when his access to voter data was shut off. Some 250,000 people signed a MoveOn.org petition supporting Sanders, and Democrats for America (DFA) collected about another 100,000\. Some prominent Democrats spoke out, and rejoiced over the DNC’s decision. “Thanks to the swift response of hundreds of thousands of progressives all across the country, the Democratic National Committee’s absurdly heavy-handed attack on Bernie Sanders’ grassroots campaign has been halted,” Charles Chamberlain, executive director of DFA. “While the trust of grassroots Democrats in the DNC’s neutrality in the presidential race can only be restored with time and actions, the reversal of this disturbing decision is a good first step in the right direction.” It is unclear how long the audit of the Sanders campaign will last, but the dispute threatens to overshadow the Democratic debate on Saturday night. ## Transcript The Bernie Sanders Democratic National Committee drama has been resolved, for now. The DNC has restored the Sanders campaign's access to the primary database of Democratic leaning voters. According to a press release from the DNC. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, the Sanders campaign has now complied with the DNC's request to provide the information that we have requested of them. Based on this information, we are restoring the Sanders campaign's access to the voter file. The DNC previously cut off the campaign's access to the database, saying it inappropriately acc Assessed Hillary Clinton's campaign data during a security failure in the database software. Which the Sanders campaign somewhat admitted to. After discussion with the DNC, it became clear that some of our staffers irresponsibly accessed some of the data from another campaign. The campaign one of the four staffers involved, but says the data wasn't accessed in a way that would give Sanders an unfair advantage. The decision to reopen Sanders access to voter data came a day after Sanders' campaign filed a lawsuit against the D N C. Despite the agreement, a person familiar with the situation told politico the campaign would not be dropping the law suit. 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