BOSTON — Maine's 2021 voter privacy law was the subject of a federal court case Thursday. The Virginia-based nonprofit called the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) sued Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows over the use of Maine's voter list.
The Maine State Legislature updated state law two years ago to permit disclosure of the list for purposes of enforcement of the National Voter Registration Act with strict safeguards to prohibit dissemination of private voter information online, according to the secretary of state's office.
Bellows was not in office when that law was updated. She was represented in the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston by the Maine Office of the Attorney General.
On Thursday afternoon, Bellows said the updated voter privacy law makes it possible for groups like the PILF to obtain Maine's voter list to "conduct verification of voter registration roles and election integrity."
“However, the law prohibits [the] sale of the voter list or publication of voter’s private information online," Bellows said.
PILF, a public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity, claims the restrictions interfere with comparing voter lists across states.
According to its website, the group sued Bellows "to obtain a copy of the voter roll and to challenge the state’s use restrictions that prohibit using Maine’s voter roll as a resource to study other state’s voter rolls and the discussion of specific errors found."
Bellows said she was willing to give the group access to Maine's voter list but they had to agree not to sell or publish it online. According to Bellows, the group refused and that's what led to a lawsuit.
Maine lost in a lower court's ruling, but will now await the ruling from the First Circuit of Appeals judge. Bellows said that the ruling could come down in the next few weeks or months.
“We are going to do everything in our power to safeguard the voter registration list. Voter privacy is fundamental to the freedom to vote, free of interference or intimidation or harassment," Bellows said. "We take that very seriously.”
The secretary of state said groups like PILF are allowed to look at Maine's voter list and verify everyone is a registered voter, under federal law. But, she believes they don't have the right to make that sensitive information public.
“We’ve always protected the voter list. It’s not just me, Shenna Bellows, who is saying voter privacy is important to the freedom to vote. That has been the principle underlying the secret ballot, the right to cast your vote, your choice, free of interference from anyone," she added.