After a federal court in Maine agreed with other courts across the country and held that the Maine voter roll is a public record subject to inspection under Motor Voter, the Maine state legislature swung into action. It passed use restrictions that prohibited anyone from talking about what they found on the public voter rolls. If you wanted to talk about what you found in the government list-maintenance records, you faced fines and penalties. If the records revealed that living people were removed from the voter rolls improperly as deceased, Maine could fine you if you talked about it. If the records showed that someone dead for 20 years remained on the voter rolls, Maine could fine you if you talked about it. If you found someone registered in both Maine and Florida, Maine could fine you if you talked about it.

We filed a state freedom-of-information request; it revealed the Maine Democratic Party’s direct involvement in advocating for this law. The Democrats lobbied legislators to pass the use restrictions that limited speech about public records.

Thankfully, United States District Judge George Z. Singal struck down Maine’s ban on communicating about public information.