Jamiesfeast – On February 2, 2024, the First Circuit Court of Appeals delivered its verdict in the voter privacy laws case, The Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Shenna Bellows, Maine Secretary of State.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to upholding election integrity. Our mission is to support states and other entities in their efforts to ensure fair elections and combat any illegal activities in the American electoral process.
According to the Public Interest Legal Foundation, their mission is to safeguard the right to vote and uphold the Constitutional framework of American elections. They achieve this through various means, including litigation, investigation, research, and education.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation has filed a lawsuit against Maine’s 2021 voter privacy law, specifically targeting Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. The group claims that the limitations imposed by the law hinder the ability to compare voter lists among different states.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit against Bellows in order to acquire a copy of the voter roll and challenge the state’s restrictions on using Maine’s voter roll as a resource for studying other state’s voter rolls and discussing specific errors found.
Maine suffered a defeat in the lower court, leading to the case being escalated to the First Circuit. The First Circuit upheld the ruling of the lower court, delivering a verdict against Maine and in favor of the Public Interest Legal Foundation.
The ruling has affirmed that Maine’s Party/Campaign Use Voter File (“Voter File”) is subject to Section 8(i)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act. This section requires the public disclosure of “all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters” (52 U.S.C. § 20507(i)(1)). The ruling supports the lower court’s decision that Maine’s limitations on the use and publication of the Voter File are overridden by the National Voter Registration Act.