Judge Rules New Mexico Officials Violated Federal Law by Restricting Access to Voter Data

A federal judge has ruled that New Mexico officials violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by refusing to provide voter data to a conservative-backed group named Voter Reference Foundation. In a 329-page ruling on March 29, Albuquerque-based U.S. District Court Judge James Browning said the New Mexico secretary of state’s office and the state’s attorney general had violated the Public Inspection Provision by denying the group’s request for voter data. The court documents named New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and Attorney General Raul Torrez as the defendants. The ruling states that the Voter Reference Foundation created a “searchable” database online that includes the voter’s name, date of birth, registration address, registration date, party affiliation, registration status, precinct, and voting participation history....