Project Vote v. Long
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
PROJECT VOTE / VOTING FOR AMERICA, INCORPORATED,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
ELISA LONG, in her official capacity as General Registrar of Norfolk, Virginia; DONALD PALMER, in his official capacity as Secretary, State Board of Elections,
Defendants-Appellants.
No. 11-1809
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS; AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEWS EDITORS; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS; ASSOCIATION OF CAPITOL REPORTERS AND EDITORS; ATLANTIC MEDIA INC.; CITIZEN MEDIA LAW PROJECT; LIN MEDIA; THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB; NATIONAL PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSOCIATION; NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA;
NORTH JERSEY MEDIA GROUP, INCORPORATED; RADIO TELEVISION DIGITAL NEWS ASSOCIATION; THE SEATTLE TIMES COMPANY;
SOCIETY OF PROFESSIONAL JOURNALISTS; STUDENT PRESS LAW CENTER; USA TODAY; VIRGINIA COALITION FOR OPEN GOVERNMENT,
Amici Supporting Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. Rebecca Beach Smith, District Judge. (2:10-cv-00075-RBS-DEM)
Argued: May 17, 2012
Decided: June 15, 2012
Opinion by Judge Wilkinson, joined by Judges Diaz & Floyd
The question here is whether Section 8(i)(1) of the National Voter Registration Act ("NVRA"), which requires public dis- closure of "all records concerning the implementation of pro- grams and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters," 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-6(i)(1), applies to completed voter registra- tion applications. The district court concluded that Section 8(i)(1) does apply to such applications and held that defendants—Virginia election officials—had violated the NVRA by refusing to disclose the completed applications with voters’ Social Security numbers redacted. Because the district court correctly interpreted Section 8(i)(1), we now affirm the judgment.
