SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Today, representatives from Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) announced a federal lawsuit challenging Utah’s refusal to provide public access to voter maintenance records during a press conference on the south steps of the Utah State Capitol.
PILF alleges that the state is in clear violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and that Utah’s election secrecy laws are among the most extreme in the country. In some counties, more than a third of voter roll records are hidden from public inspection.
“Utah must open its voter records to the public,” said PILF President J. Christian Adams. “We’ve won these types of cases in Illinois, Maine, and all across the country. We expect the same outcome here.”
“What’s happening in Utah isn’t happening in isolation,” added Douglas Blair, PILF’s Director of Communications. “Recent polling shows only 59% of Utah’s Republicans and 58% of independents have confidence in election results. Utah’s secrecy directly contributes to that lack of trust.”
The lawsuit comes after months of unsuccessful attempts to obtain voter maintenance records through public information requests. PILF and their client, Phil Lyman, issued a formal 90-day notice of noncompliance to Utah officials earlier this year. That deadline expired without resolution.
Prior to the press conference, PILF hosted a roundtable discussion surrounding the litigation with members of the public. More than a hundred people came to listen to Adams and Lyman speak.
“This is not just my fight,” Lyman said “This is our fight. This is Utah’s fight.”
A full copy of the lawsuit and media materials from the event can be found here.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Douglas Blair
dblair@publicinterestlegal.org
503-956-9899