On Tuesday, the Public Interest Legal Foundation was in court advocating for transparency in Minnesota elections. PILF was in court defending against the Minnesota Secretary of State’s motion to dismiss its lawsuit regarding the constitutionality of Minnesota’s special exemption from the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) transparency obligations. Also in the courtroom were Attorneys from the Department of Justice (DOJ), who were supporting the Secretary of State’s motion.Â
Under the NVRA, certain election records, including the voter roll, must be available to the public at a reasonable cost. Congress gave six states an exemption from this requirement because they did not have voter registration or had same-day voter registration when the NVRA was passed in 1993.
PILF’S ARGUMENT
Courts across the country, from the First Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this year to a district court in South Carolina just last month, universally agree that the voter roll is subject to public disclosure under the NVRA. This is not novel. This is well-established jurisprudence.
Transparency over voting rights is essential. Right now, Minnesota’s voter list maintenance activities are shrouded in darkness. There is election transparency in 44 states and D.C., but in six states that transparency is lacking.
There is no current justification for Congress’s differential treatment of the states here. Since the passage of the NVRA, same-day registration has greatly expanded. Now, 19 states and the District of Columbia (D.C) offer same-day voter registration. Yet only 13 of these states and D.C. are subject to the NVRA’s transparency requirements, while Minnesota and five other states are not.
In Minnesota, just like in all 49 states and D.C., voting rights are constantly granted and removed. Transparency in this process is essential.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FOUGHT TRANSPARENCY
The DOJ argued that transparency was not an independent goal of the NVRA. This was ironic because the DOJ has recently appeared in federal court supporting election transparency in Maine and Pennsylvania.
SECRETARY OF STATE STEVE SIMON: NVRA DOESN’T APPLY TO US
Lawyers for Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon argued the case should be dismissed because the NVRA does not apply to Minnesota. They pointed to state transparency laws. However, such laws do not allow the Foundation to access the voter roll, as it can in other states.Â