PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that Maine must release its voter list to a conservative-backed group that’s conducting independent audits, concluding that state restrictions on distributing the list violated the National Voter Registration Act.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation sued Maine over its decision to prevent the wholesale release of voter registration lists without restrictions, such as prohibiting the information from being published online.
Organization spokesperson Lauren Bowman said the group sued to ensure its researchers can compare voter rolls in one state against those in another and that it had no intention of publishing the rolls.
State election officials and privacy advocates have raised alarms about a push by several conservative groups to access state voter rolls, fearing that the lists could be used to intimidate voters or cancel registrations.
“We will do everything in our power in accordance with the law and court decision to protect voter information from abuse," Bellows said.
Persons:
Lauren Bowman, J, Christian Adams, State Shenna Bellows, “, ”, Bellows
Organizations:
—, Legal Foundation, Maine, 1st U.S, Circuit, ”, State, Democrat, New York Citizens Audit, Interest Legal Foundation
Locations:
PORTLAND, Maine, Boston, ” Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, State, New York, . Maine