(RALEIGH, NC.) – February 21, 2017: The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) today released a statement applauding the court’s decision to proceed with its client’s case against the Wake County Board of Elections to clean voter rolls (Voter Integrity Project NC v. Wake County BOE).

Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt ruled in favor of the plaintiff, Voter Integrity Project NC, denying motions to dismiss its case brought against the Wake County Board of Elections over allegations that voter rolls were not being properly maintained and disclosed on February 21.

“This is a welcome, but expected development in the case to clean Wake County’s voter rolls,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “No county should have more registered voters than eligible residents, especially to the tune of 105 percent registration. Wake County is leaving multiple tools on the table to better serve its voters – now even the court is beginning to show signs of agreement. PILF will continue to press for close examination of apparent breakdowns in maintenance procedures and transparency guidelines.”

Below is a summary of observations made by Judge Britt in his decision to deny dismissal of the case.

VIP-NC’s methodology for determining whether Wake County’s voter rolls had become bloated in violation of federal law is ‘reasonable’.

“Considering VIP-NC’s allegation that the number of registered voters in Wake County has exceeded, and continues to exceed, the number of eligible voters, which allegation is in turn supported by reliable data and WBOE’s failure to use available jury excuse information, a reasonable inference can be drawn that WCBOE is not making a reasonable effort to conduct a voter list maintenance program in accordance with the NVRA.”

Wake County cannot shift maintenance burdens to the State.

The court rejected the argument that legal action with respect to maintenance can only be directed at states, a key element of the defendants’ position to dismiss the suit.

A copy of the ruling, entered on February 21, 2017 has been made available, here.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated 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.

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DOc. 37 – Order Denying MTD by Public Interest Legal Foundation on Scribd