One of the requirements of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) is that state records relating to voter registration and list maintenance be made available to the public for inspection. Yesterday Project Vote and the Advancement Project, in cooperation with pro bono attorneys from the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP, filed Project Vote v. Rodrigues, a lawsuit against election officials from the state of Virginia for failing to provide for such transparency.
In 2008, after receiving reports of large numbers of rejected voter registration applications–particularly from students at the historically African-American Norfolk State University–Advancement Project and Project Vote sought to review Norfolk’s rejected registration applications to determine if qualified persons were unlawfully kept off the voting rolls. We were denied access due to a Virginia law that prohibits such records from being disclosed, in clear violation of the NVRA.
In a country with a long and troubled history of voter suppression–particularly of minority voters–the access to records provided by the NVRA is vital to ensuring that states are not conducting voter purges in secret, or using arbitrary or politically-motivated criteria for removing eligible Americans from the rolls. This issue has never before been litigated, and therefore we have an opportunity to set an important precedent to help ensure the transparency and integrity of the voter registration process. We look forward to keeping you updated on the progress of this important case.
To read the press release about this lawsuit, click here.
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