A federal judge last week handed a legal victory to the Voter Reference Foundation (VRF), an election watchdog group, after ruling that New Mexico state officials unlawfully discriminated against the group. The dispute centers on VRF's program that makes voter registration data publicly available. 

The Voter Reference Foundation, a group advocating for election transparency,  provides public access to voter rolls across 32 states. By publishing the data, VRF says it helps the public detect potential irregularities in the state’s voter registration files. Led by Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, the state resisted the group’s efforts to post New Mexico voter rolls online, arguing it would violate state privacy laws and could intimidate voters.

In 2022, state election officials initiated legal action to block VRF from publishing voter registration data specific to New Mexico. The state stated that while the group could access the data, they should not be able to display it online. However, VRF claimed that their actions were lawful under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

In his August 28 ruling, US Federal District Judge James Browning said that New Mexico’s actions to suppress the publication of voter rolls constituted unlawful discrimination against VRF's right to free speech. Browning found that the state's refusal to allow publication violated the federal law that mandates public access to voter registration data for transparency purposes. According to the judge, restricting VRF's access and publication rights interfered with the group’s ability to perform its function as an election 

Proponents of transparency claim that unrestricted access to voter data can prevent fraud, such as double voting or ballots cast on behalf of deceased individuals. Privacy advocates argue that making such data publicly available could expose voters to intimidation or 

Judge Browning noted that while voter privacy concerns are legitimate, they cannot override the public’s right to access election data. The ruling also said that states cannot selectively apply laws to inhibit specific organizations from performing their oversight roles based on political 

Similar cases have been brought by VRF and other election integrity groups in several states, where they argue transparency is essential to ensure election integrity.