{"id":2344100,"date":"2024-09-20T18:37:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T22:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-group-can-inspect-sc-voter-rolls-judge-rules\/"},"modified":"2024-09-20T18:38:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-20T22:38:53","slug":"election-integrity-group-can-inspect-sc-voter-rolls-judge-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-group-can-inspect-sc-voter-rolls-judge-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"Election Integrity Group Can Inspect SC Voter Rolls, Judge Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Felection-integrity-group-can-inspect-sc-voter-rolls-judge-rules%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2344100&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge in South Carolina, Joseph \u2063F. Anderson Jr., ruled that the \u2063Public Interest Legal Foundation\u200d (PILF), an election integrity advocacy organization, can review the state&#8217;s voter rolls for ineligible voters. The\u200d decision came after the South \u200cCarolina State Election Commission \u2064(SEC) attempted to block PILF&#8217;s access, citing state law that restricts voter record\u2062 access to &#8220;qualified electors.&#8221; However, Anderson pointed \u2062out\u2063 that under the\u200d National\u2063 Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), voter records must\u2062 be made available for public inspection, irrespective of the requester&#8217;s \u2064state residency. <\/p>\n<p>The ruling emphasized that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-has-five-major-decisions-to-make-as-deadline-nears-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Supreme Court has five major decisions to make as deadline nears - Washington Examiner\">state law conflicts<\/a> with federal law, which mandates that records concerning \u200dvoter maintenance be publicly\u200c accessible. This \u2063decision allows PILF to investigate issues such as duplicate registrations\u2064 and deceased voters on the \u2064rolls. PILF positions itself as\u200d a law firm\u200b focused on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-california-ai-law-mounts-chilling-assault-on-free-speech\/\" title=\"New California AI Law Mounts Chilling Assault On Free Speech\">safeguarding election \u2064integrity<\/a> and has sought similar data\u200c in various \u200bstates to analyze voter registration issues.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/82538566@N00\/848791756\">Jim Bowen \/ Flickr<\/a>\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/\">CC By 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/20\/election-integrity-advocates-can-inspect-south-carolina-voter-rolls-federal-judge-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Election%20Integrity%20Advocates%20Can%20Inspect%20South%20Carolina%20Voter%20Rolls,%20Federal%20Judge%20Rules&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/20\/election-integrity-advocates-can-inspect-south-carolina-voter-rolls-federal-judge-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Election%20Integrity%20Advocates%20Can%20Inspect%20South%20Carolina%20Voter%20Rolls,%20Federal%20Judge%20Rules&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/20\/election-integrity-advocates-can-inspect-south-carolina-voter-rolls-federal-judge-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/20\/election-integrity-advocates-can-inspect-south-carolina-voter-rolls-federal-judge-rules\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Election%20Integrity%20Advocates%20Can%20Inspect%20South%20Carolina%20Voter%20Rolls,%20Federal%20Judge%20Rules&amp;body=The%20election%20integrity%20group%20will%20now%20be%20allowed%20access%20to%20voter%20roll%20data%20to%20ensure%20ineligible%20persons%20are%20not%20casting%20ballots.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/09\/20\/election-integrity-advocates-can-inspect-south-carolina-voter-rolls-federal-judge-rules\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A federal judge in South Carolina ruled Wednesday that an election integrity advocacy organization has the right to review the state&rsquo;s voter rolls for ineligible voting.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr., an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/OpinionSC.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled<\/a> that the South Carolina State Election Commission (SEC) could not block the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) from reviewing the Palmetto State&rsquo;s voter rolls, despite it being an out-of-state organization.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-55490fdac847ccc4ad940f7a05affea8 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-55490fdac847ccc4ad940f7a05affea8\"><\/div>\n<p>Because voter rolls are a matter of public information under federal law, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), the SEC could not block PILF from reviewing its Statewide Voter Registration List (SVRL), the court&rsquo;s opinion explained.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;South Carolina&rsquo;s prohibition on the distribution of the SVRL to only eligible South Carolina voters conflicts with the NVRA&rsquo;s mandate that all records concerning maintenance and accuracy activities be made available for &lsquo;public inspection,&rsquo;&rdquo; Anderson wrote. &ldquo;Because adherence to South Carolina law would frustrate application of the Federal mandate, the state law must yield.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The SEC, South Carolina&rsquo;s executive agency responsible for administering elections, argued that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scstatehouse.gov\/code\/t07c003.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state law<\/a> would prohibit PILF from obtaining the voter records because the group is not a &ldquo;qualified elector&rdquo; in South Carolina. It therefore <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked<\/a> PILF&rsquo;s initial request for the data in February.<\/p>\n<p>PILF is not a South Carolina voter, but &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">describes<\/a> itself as a &lsquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-new-report-claims-almost-15-million-2020-election-ballots-are-currently-unaccounted-for-where-are-they\/\" title=\"BREAKING: New Report Claims Almost 15 Million 2020 Election Ballots Are Currently Unaccounted For \u2013 Where Are They?\">public interest law firm dedicated<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elias-group-tarnishes-watchdog-to-keep-bad-voters-on-nv-rolls\/\" title=\"Elias Group Tarnishes Watchdog To Keep Bad Voters On NV Rolls\">election integrity&#038;rsquo<\/a>; which &lsquo;protects the right to vote and preserves the Constitutional framework of American elections through litigation, investigation, research, and education,&rsquo;&rdquo; the opinion noted. PILF&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/publicinterestlegal.org\/issues\/voter-roll-error-map\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website says<\/a> it requests similar data from states across the country to feed into its database that sheds light on who is &ldquo;voting twice or from beyond the grave.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c6e9817683bd79ca215ce23bccf98dc4 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-6\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c6e9817683bd79ca215ce23bccf98dc4\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve used this data to sue states for failing to do effective list maintenance such as not removing deceased registrants, duplicate voter registrations, and voters who move to another state,&rdquo; PILF&rsquo;s website adds.<\/p>\n<p>The data includes certain demographic data like sex, race, and age, as well as county and voting district, the decision states.<\/p>\n<p>According to the ruling, the SEC attempted to make the argument that its voter list, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/crt\/national-voter-registration-act-1993-nvra\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">required by federal law<\/a> to both be made publicly available and maintained as a list of &ldquo;all records concerning the implementation of programs and activities conducted for the purpose of ensuring the accuracy and currency of official lists of eligible voters,&rdquo; is not used for ensuring accuracy, currency, or, as Anderson pointed out, apparently anything at all.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The SEC&rsquo;s posited classification of the SVRL looks past the plain language of the NVRA. Put simply, the NVRA is a broad statute which covers all records &lsquo;concerning&rsquo; efforts made to maintain an accurate and current list of eligible voters,&rdquo; Anderson wrote. &ldquo;How then, can a report which identifies the most updated list of eligible South Carolina voters not be a record concerning the efforts made to ensure an accurate and current list of voters?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c311b59546b2709e504f6520a1ba1e4e fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-c311b59546b2709e504f6520a1ba1e4e\"><\/div>\n<p>&ldquo;The SVRL represents the end-product of the State&rsquo;s list maintenance activities,&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b98255ff9a76d6893e66b26c37776a9e fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-b98255ff9a76d6893e66b26c37776a9e\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\" rel=\"noopener\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/1993-national-voting-registration-act\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">1993 National Voting Registration Act<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/2024-election\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">2024 election<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-integrity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election integrity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/joseph-f-anderson-jr\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Joseph F. Anderson Jr.<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/public-interest-legal-foundation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Public Interest Legal Foundation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/south-carolina\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">South Carolina<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/south-carolina-election-commission\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">South Carolina Election Commission<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-roll-maintenance\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter roll maintenance<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-rolls\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Voter Rolls<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A federal judge in South Carolina determined on Wednesday that an organization advocating for election integrity is permitted to examine the state&#8217;s voter rolls for instances of ineligible voting. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr., appointed by President Ronald Reagan, concluded that the South Carolina State Election Commission (SEC) could not prevent the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), an out-of-state group, from accessing the voter rolls of South Carolina. The court&#8217;s opinion clarified that since voter rolls are considered public information under federal law, specifically the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA), the SEC was unable to deny PILF access to its Statewide Voter Registration List (SVRL). <\/p>\n<p>Judge Anderson stated, \u201cSouth Carolina\u2019s restriction on distributing the SVRL solely to eligible voters contradicts NVRA\u2019s requirement that all records related to maintenance and accuracy be available for \u2018public inspection.\u2019\u201d He emphasized that state law must yield when it conflicts with federal mandates.<\/p>\n<p>The SEC argued against PILF&#8217;s request by claiming state law prohibits access because PILF is not a &#8220;qualified elector&#8221; in South Carolina and had initially denied their data request in February. Although PILF does not have voters registered in South Carolina, it describes itself as a &#8220;public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity,&#8221; focusing on litigation and research related to voting issues.<\/p>\n<p>PILF collects similar data from various states for its database aimed at identifying cases of double voting or deceased individuals still listed as voters. Their website mentions using this data to take legal action against states failing effective list maintenance practices like removing deceased registrants or duplicate registrations.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling noted that while certain demographic information such as sex, race, age, county, and voting district are included in this data set, SEC attempted to argue that their voter list does not serve purposes related to maintaining accuracy or currency\u2014an assertion Judge Anderson found unconvincing. He pointed out that according to NVRA&#8217;s broad language regarding records concerning efforts made for accurate voter lists, it was illogical for them not to consider their updated list of eligible voters as relevant documentation.<\/p>\n<p>In summary: A federal judge has ruled that an election integrity group can review South Carolina&#8217;s voter rolls despite state objections based on eligibility requirements<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2344101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/848791756_44bfb0a4f8_k.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33740,32644,41373,32643,32570],"class_list":["post-2344100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-court-ruling","tag-election-integrity","tag-sc-election","tag-voter-rolls","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/848791756_44bfb0a4f8_k.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2344100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2344100\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2344101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2344100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2344100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2344100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}