Court Dismisses Group’s Lawsuit Over PA Election Rolls

By Peter Hall | Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Pennsylvania’s ban on publishing publicly accessible voter data on the internet doesn’t conflict with federal election law or the First Amendment, a federal judge in Harrisburg ruled last week.

U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Saporito Jr. granted summary judgment Thursday, ruling in favor of Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt before trial. Saporito rejected most arguments by a nonprofit election integrity group with ties to a Trump-aligned billionaire GOP megadonor that sued over the commonwealth’s policy.

The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) sued Schmidt in 2024 alleging the Department of State violated the National Voter Registration Act and the First Amendment guarantee of free speech by refusing to provide the state’s voter rolls after the group refused to agree to the internet sharing ban.

Schmidt said in a statement Friday that he is pleased the federal court recognized the department’s reasonable restriction on publishing the commonwealth’s voter list does not violate federal law. 

“The Department’s common-sense prohibition on disclosing the private information of Pennsylvania voters from disclosure on the internet is in line with our dedication to protect the privacy of our voters,” Schmidt said. “The Court correctly recognized this in its detailed and well-reasoned opinion.”

Harrisburg attorney Charles O. Beckley II referred the Capital-Star to the foundation’s lawyers in Kansas City, Missouri. They did not respond to a phone message Friday.

The decision is one of several against the organization, although Saporito noted that two federal appeals courts elsewhere in the country have reached different conclusions about similar claims by the group. 

VRF, led by former GOP Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Doug Truax, is “dedicated to ensuring transparent, accurate and fair elections,” according to its website. Founded after the 2020 presidential election, it aims to do that by making election records from across the country available for anyone to review in search of irregularities.

A 2022 ProPublica investigation found the foundation and its funders have links to a super PAC predominantly funded by Wisconsin billionaire Richard Uihlein.

In its complaint against Schmidt, VRF argued that the state’s ban on publishing voter rolls on the internet violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). 

Commonly known as the motor-voter law, the NVRA aimed to boost voter registration by requiring states to offer opportunities to register at motor vehicle offices and other government offices. But the 1993 law also requires states to maintain and make available to the public at least two years of records concerning the accuracy and currency of voter rolls.

Pennsylvania law requires the maintenance of “public information lists” which include the name address, date of birth, and voting history of all registered voters. The Department of State makes the lists available for inspection or they may be purchased for $20.

People can also request a digital version of the list, also for $20, called the “Full Voter Export,” which contains more detailed information about individual voters. Those requesting the list must agree not to publish it online, according to the opinion. 

The Voter Reference Foundation requested the FVE list on two occasions in March 2022 and November 2023. Each time, the organization did not agree to refrain from publishing the list and the department denied the request. 

VRF informed the department in 2023 that the denial violated the NVRA’s public voter roll disclosure provision and that the state internet sharing ban was preempted by the federal law. 

Saporito noted that while courts generally assume that Congress does not intend to preempt state law, that presumption does not apply to Congress’ powers to make or alter state election regulations under the U.S. Constitution’s Elections Clause.

The text of the NVRA and the state Voter Registration Act show the state law internet sharing ban doesn’t interfere with the federal requirement to make voter rolls available for public scrutiny, the judge said.

“Indeed, the Internet Sharing Ban does not in any way prevent any party from accessing and publicly inspecting the full voter data to which they are entitled under the NVRA; it only prevents the full voter export list from being published on the Internet,” Saporito wrote in his 52-page opinion.

Saporito also rejected VRF’s argument that the internet sharing ban is a restriction on core political belief, finding that the Supreme Court has held the First Amendment doesn’t mandate a right of access to government information.

“Here, we find that VRF is seeking voting data information within the Commonwealth’s control,” Saporito wrote. “And therefore we conclude that the Commonwealth’s decision to limit access to that information is entitled to ‘deference as a policy matter.”

Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Tim Lambert for questions: info@penncapital-star.com.