In total, the Foundation forced six counties to remove hundreds of duplicates.
(Minneapolis, MN) – January 9, 2024: Today, the Public Interest Legal Foundation secured a settlement agreement with Ramsey County, Minnesota that will help ensure the County is eliminating duplicate voter registrations as required by federal law. Under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), states are required to implement a computerized statewide voter registration list that is accurate and eliminates duplicate registrations.
This settlement agreement comes after the Foundation filed a formal HAVA complaint against the County that resulted in the removal of 61 duplicate voter registrations from the voter roll.
Duplicate voter registrations invite errors and are an invitation for one person to cast multiple ballots.
As part of the settlement agreement, Ramsey County will provide the Foundation with:
- Records showing the criteria and procedures for monthly duplicate searches
- Copies of procedures for staff review of duplicate voter registrations
- Records showing the cause of now-resolved duplicates
- Records containing potential duplicate entries that need to be reviewed by staff
Additionally, over the next year, the County must review suspected duplicate voter registrations submitted by the Foundation and take action to merge them, where necessary.
“This is a significant victory to ensure duplicate voter registrations are being caught and removed in Ramsey County,” said PILF President, J. Christian Adams. “The most basic election integrity starts at the county level with clean and accurate voter rolls. These victories in Minnesota have set the stage for a more secure election in 2024.”
In total, six Minnesota counties have removed 501 duplicate voter registrations due to the efforts and litigation of the Public Interest Legal Foundation.
This case marks the latest in a long line of successful cases brought by PILF under the National Voter Registration Act and similar laws to keep American elections clean. PILF has brought more voter roll clean-up and inspection cases under the National Voter Registration Act and associated Help America Vote Act than any organization in the United States. It has obtained judgment in many of these and will bring more this important election year.
James Dickey of the Upper Midwest Law Center served as local counsel.
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Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is the nation’s only public interest law firm dedicated wholly to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections. PILF has brought lawsuits and won victories in Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and across the United States.