Who Watches the Watchmen? We do.
The history of election administration in the U.S. is plagued with erroneous, partisan, and illegal practices that have denied the right to vote to American citizens. Valid voter registration applications have been wrongfully denied. Thousands of eligible voters have been mistakenly—or deliberately—removed from the rolls. Phony claims of voter registration fraud have been used to attack, persecute, and restrict voter registration efforts.
Fair access to records is vital for ensuring that states are not using arbitrary or politically-motivated criteria for rejecting applicants or purging voters in secret. This is why the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires public disclosure of voter registration activities: to encourage accountability, to help identify and stop inaccurate voter list maintenance programs, and to educate voters on how to complete applications and remain on the rolls.
And that’s why Project Vote is leading efforts to make sure states are complying with their transparency obligations under the NVRA, guaranteeing that voter registration records and list maintenance procedures are clear, in compliance with law, and available for inspection.
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Maricopa County Recorder Agrees to Settlement with Voting Rights Group Over Access to Records
Project Vote and the office of Adrian Fontes, Maricopa Co. Recorder, announced the settlement of a lawsuit over the transparency of voter registration records. Read more
In a Victory for Voters, Court Orders Georgia’s Secretary of State to Release Voter Registration Records
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that a federal lawsuit to ensure the transparency of Georgia's voter registration records will proceed, and that the state must release certain records under the NVRA. Read more
Voting Rights Group Sues Ga. Sec. of State Brian Kemp for Voter Registration Records
Project Vote filed a lawsuit today against Georgia's Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, over his refusal to release public records relating to rejected voter registration applications. Read more
Voting Rights Proposals Could Affect 2016 Elections
Since January, lawmakers on the state and federal levels have introduced over 180 bills that would change state and federal voting laws. Read more
Project Vote Releases New Policy Paper on Voter Registration Transparency
Fair access to records is vital to ensuring that states are not using arbitrary or politically-motivated criteria for rejecting applicants or purging voters in secret. Read more
Voting Rights Victory in Virginia
Friday, after a two-year legal battle, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a lower court’s ruling for the plaintiffs in Project Vote v. Long, a precedent-setting case brought by voting rights advocates to ensure the transparency of the voter registration and voter roll maintenance processes. Read more
Virginia Election Officials Sued for Unlawfully Denying Access to Voter Files
Today, leading voter protection groups Advancement Project and Project Vote, along with pro bono cooperating attorneys from the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Norfolk against Elisa Long, general registrar of Norfolk and Nancy Rodrigues, secretary of the State Board of Elections, for denying access to certain voter registration records. Read more
Voting Rights Advocates Ask, Why Won’t Jackson County Help?
The voting rights groups Project Vote and the Association of Community Organization for Reform Now (ACORN) are working to make sure every eligible Missourian gets on the voter rolls, but boards of elections may be preventing eligible voters from voting in next week’s elections by hampering the efforts of groups to obtain lists of people who tried to register with the boards but whose applications were rejected. Read more