EPIC sent an amicus short on Friday, June 16 in the case Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Bellows prompting the First Circuit to reverse a district court opinion that discovered a Maine citizen personal privacy law to be preempted by the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”). In the case, PILF– an organization that focuses on election stability and has at time openly released specific voters’ social security numbers and wrongfully implicated them of felonies— is suing Maine, alleging that Maine’s voter privacy law is prohibited. Maine’s voter law allows members of the general public to acquire the statewide voter list just if they are doing so to assess Maine’s compliance with the NVRA and if they agree to not use the list to publicly release citizens’ names, addresses, birth dates, and other personally identifiable info. The NVRA requires states to keep and make publicly readily available records connecting to the state’s application of programs that guarantee statewide voter registration lists are accurate.
PILF argues that under the NVRA, all finished voter registration applications, including the information contained in the statewide voter file, need to be openly offered, so Maine’s personal privacy law unlawfully disputes with the NVRA. The district court agreed with PILF, giving it summary judgment, so Maine appealed.
EPIC’s brief argues that PILF and the district court were incorrect: citizen personal privacy improves election integrity by protecting citizens from abuse, intimidation, and browbeating. Legendary’s brief argues that openly launching voters’ sensitive private details will just discourage ballot, so Maine’s reasonable access, transfer, and use restrictions allows the public to guarantee Maine’s elections are managed with stability while also protecting Maine residents. EPIC’s quick also reveals that such constraints are commonplace both in ballot and other arenas across the country.
Legendary frequently submits amicus briefs in cases associated with voter personal privacy and supporters for citizen privacy through comments and reports.