In a historic victory, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Public Interest Legal Foundation regarding the release of the voter list.
The PILF sued Maine for its decision to block the wholesale publication of voter registration lists without limitations, such as preventing anyone from publicizing the information online.
PILF spokesperson Lauren Bowman said, “to ensure its researchers can compare voter rolls in one state against those in another and that it had no intention of publishing the rolls.
For the president of the PILF, Christian Adams, this decision by the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston is a “monumental victory for transparency in elections.”
However, Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows argued that she is “deeply concerned, as voter information continues to circulate online.
“Promises aren’t good enough,” said Bellows. “No Mainers should be afraid that by registering to vote that their information will be published online and that they’ll face threat, harassment and other harms.”
Bellows also accuses GOP groups of intimidating voters or canceling registrations.
Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton emphasized that the “federal law mandates voter roll transparency.
Maine used to provide voter registration lists to candidates and political parties, but later on, stopped after they were sued in 2019 for failing to provide the rolls to the people.
The Court’s decision read:
“Whether voter registration rolls are accurate and current cannot be determined without inspecting the Voter File…In other words, the evaluation of voter registration rolls would be impossible if the results of Maine’s voter list registration and maintenance activities were not subject to public disclosure. For the above reasons, Maine’s Voter File is a record concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters and is thus subject to disclosure under Section 8.”
Furthermore, the Court blasted the state for its fines and restrictions on voter file data, which limits Congress from achieving its intent to achieve transparency and impose oversight on NVRA.
According to the ruling, “[T]he restrictions imposed by the Use Ban erect an impenetrable barrier for those seeking to use the Voter File to evaluate and enforce compliance with the NVRA nationwide.”
In October 2019, the PILF requested a statewide voter role and voting histories. However, the secretary of state denied the request, claiming that the state law prohibits voter rolls to provide limited access to different political parties. The Foundation charged Maine in 2020.
Read the ruling here:
