On Heels of Maine Win, MA Group Sues for Voter Lists

Above. Secretary of State William F. Galvin sued over lockup of voter rolls.

A voter integrity citizen’s group that tried to get a ballot question mandating voter ID on the 2024 ballot filed a lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts this week charging the Commonwealth violated federal law by withholding voter registration data from the group.

The Committee for Massachusetts Voter Identification Ballot Question sued the Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin and cites sections of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) that require state governments to make voter registration data available for public inspection. The grassroots political committee had sought to analyze the voter rolls to demonstrate the state had not fulfilled its responsibility to maintain the lists as accurate and reliable.

The lawsuit says that the NVRA’s Public Disclosure Provision “convey[s] Congress’s intention that the public should be monitoring the state of the voter rolls and the adequacy of election officials’ list maintenance programs. … Accordingly, election officials must provide full public access to all records related to their list maintenance activities, including their voter rolls.”

In a similar lawsuit filed in Maine last year, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit confirmed in February 2024 that Maine’s voter list and maintenance activities are subject to disclosure.

The Committee for Massachusetts Voter Identification Ballot Question asserts it should be able to inspect voter rolls to identify errors and violations of law that expose elections to the risk of voter fraud. Violations might include having duplicate registrations for voters, deceased voters, or voters living at addresses that don’t exist.

The lawsuit is The Committee for Massachusetts Voter Identification Ballot Question v. the Hon. William Francis Galvin, in his official capacity as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Case No. 1:24-cv-12029, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.