Federal judge decries discrimination against conservative group that publishes voters’ information

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A federal judge says New Mexico election regulators and prosecutors discriminated against a Republican-backed group in refusing access to voter registration rolls.

The Friday ruling bars the state from refusing to turn over voter data to Voter Reference Foundation, bolstering the group’s efforts to expand a free database of registered voters so that groups and individuals can take it upon themselves to try to find potential irregularities or fraud.

State prosecutors plan to appeal the ruling, said Lauren Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Department of Justice.

The VoteRef.com website recently restored New Mexico listings to its searchable database of registered voters — including street addresses, party affiliations and whether voters participated in recent elections.

Election officials in several states and privacy advocates have raised alarms about a push by several conservative groups to gain access to state voter rolls. They say the lists could find their way into the hands of malicious actors and that voters could be disenfranchised through intimidation, possibly by canceling their registrations to avoid public disclosure of their home addresses and party affiliation.

But Albuquerque-based U.S. District Court Judge James Browning ruled that state election regulators engaged in viewpoint-based discrimination and free speech violations in denying the Voter Reference Foundation access to voter data and by referring the matter to state prosecutors.

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