Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) attorney Noel Johnson appeared before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to challenge Wisconsin’s exemption from the transparency requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
Congress enacted the NVRA in 1993 to increase accountability in elections by requiring states to make voter list maintenance records, including complete voter rolls, available to the public at a reasonable cost.
Yet six states, including Wisconsin, were given special exemptions. These carve-outs deny voters in those states the same transparency rights guaranteed everywhere else.
The principle of equal state sovereignty, reaffirmed by the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder, requires that Congress cannot treat states differently without substantial justification.
Today, Wisconsin still conducts the same voter list maintenance activities as other states but refuses to disclose its voter roll with full date-of-birth information at a reasonable cost.
Meanwhile, 18 other states and the District of Columbia also allow same-day voter registration but comply with NVRA transparency. Wisconsin’s continued exemption leaves its election officials shielded from public accountability.
“No state should be immune from transparency,” said J. Christian Adams, PILF President. “The public has the right to monitor how election officials add and remove voters. Special exemptions only shield mistakes. The Founders made the states equal, and no state should have exemptions from this constitutional arrangement.”
PILF’s case seeks to ensure equal treatment under federal law and to end special carve-outs that undermine trust in elections.
Watch Johnson’s arguments in front of the court here.
For interviews or additional information, contact:
Douglas Blair | 503-956-9899 | dblair@publicinterestlegal.org