South Michigan News

An election integrity watchdog wants New Mexico to publish the state's voter rolls and is suing the New Mexico secretary of state and attorney general to make it happen.

The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) filed a First Amendment lawsuit on March 28 and is seeking the U.S. District Court in Albuquerque to back their efforts to publish the state's voter rolls so that taxpayers can see them, a recent report by Just the News said.  

VRF alleged in the lawsuit that Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver incorrectly stated the organization unlawfully distributed New Mexico's voter rolls. VFR further claimed that Oliver is known for preventing access to public voting records and had done so previously when President Trump asked for them in 2017.

"The Voter Reference Foundation posted New Mexico voter data online in direct violation of the New Mexico Election Code, and we have referred that matter to the Attorney General," Oliver's office recently posted on Facebook. "We also believe the people behind the 'audit' currently taking place in Otero County may be using this data for their canvass."

Doug Truax is the president and founder of Restoration Action, which established VRF. He noted that taxpayers have a right to view the records in question.

"The taxpayers of New Mexico pay for election administration, and they have an absolute right to view the records that are produced," he said in the report. "Confidence in American elections is at a low ebb, and one reason is a lack of transparency.

"We are not going to be deterred by partisan election officials who believe the election records taxpayers pay for are their personal possessions. The public has a right to see them and if they try to block us, we will assert that right in court."

In December of 2021, VoteRef.com added Michigan to its voter database, a voteref.com report said. 

Since it began operations in 2021, VRF has published the voter rolls of 22 states and Washington, D.C.; the Just the News report said.