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Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) emerged victorious in its legal battle for election integrity and transparency, securing public access to critical tools for holding election administrators accountable for maintaining clean, up-to-date, and accurate voter rolls. RITE sued Maryland in January of 2024 on behalf of two citizen activists, challenging a State Board of Elections (SBE) regulation that hindered their investigations into whether the state was removing non-residents, the deceased, and duplicate registrations.
UPDATE: 2024 Election
Maryland Organization is sending “Voter Report Cards” with a Vaguely Threatening Messages to Voters in bold: —— “Remember, who you vote for is private, but whether or not you voted is public record.”
And then says, “we will be reviewing these records after… https://t.co/OVY1NK5TtL pic.twitter.com/Zoz48Qr7gz
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) October 31, 2024
RITE’s suit alleged that Maryland’s law violated the NVRA, a federal statute that mandates states to provide public access to records revealing whether they are maintaining accurate and current voter registration records. The plaintiffs’ investigative canvassing had uncovered multiple anomalies within the state’s voter records, findings consistent with a recent legislative audit. Rather than promoting free and accurate elections, SBE responded by enacting a regulation that sought to impede the plaintiffs’ work, restricting their access to and use of state records, including voter history information—a key record for determining whether a state is removing non-residents from its voter lists as required by federal law.
Maryland politicians fought tooth and nail to hide full truth about theIr dirty election rolls. Court victory will allow @JudicialWatch to ensure Maryland removing voters who moved or died long ago. Pic w/Bob Popper, lead JW election law attorney. https://t.co/wAGa4K3ZMU pic.twitter.com/q1P1ZwdGnw
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) April 22, 2020
In a resounding and complete victory for RITE, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland held that the SBE had violated federal law and enjoined its unlawful effort to suppress the plaintiffs’ work. The court fully endorsed RITE’s position that the NVRA requires states to make voter history information available to the public, the most direct ruling from any court in the country on that issue to date.
RITE’s President & CEO Derek Lyons hailed the win, stating, “RITE’s win today is a significant victory for election transparency and the rule of law. RITE warned Maryland that its regulation limiting public access to key registration records was illegal – and it is. Today’s ruling enables citizens across the country, and in Maryland in particular, to conduct important investigative work that promotes clean voter rolls and safe, secure, and accurate elections.”
