FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) recently posted Arkansas’ voter list to its online, searchable platform with the aim to increase election transparency.
According to a press release, some states have fought back in the Courts, and the group recently won a legal battle on this matter in New Mexico. VRF calls that recent federal court ruling “a strong victory for election transparency,” as it allowed for the voter rolls in New Mexico to be published after Federal Judge James O. Browning stopped state officials from blocking the publication.
VRF first posted the voter data for New Mexico online in December 2021 and then removed it in March 2022 after threats from the New Mexico Secretary of State that publication was illegal.
“In conclusion, New Mexico’s Election Code does not prohibit Voter Reference’s publication of voter data online,” Judge Browning wrote in his opinion.
Since its establishment in 2021, the VRF has published voter roll data from 29 states and the District of Columbia. The site represents more than half the nation’s population and is the first of its kind to grant citizens “the ability to view who is eligible to vote, when they voted, and other basic election data.”
The website in question is available here and allows users to browse voters and elections by state.