True The Vote Suffers Major Loss in #MSSEN Case

Lost in the beginning of the Labor Day weekend and the ruling against Sen. McDaniel’s election challenge against Thad Cochran was a 90-page ruling issued in True the Vote v. Hosemann. TTV lost just about every issue it raised, although the trial court rejected the MS Republican Party’s request for sanctions.

Here is the conclusion of the court’s opinion:

For a variety of reasons, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs’ NVRA claims fail as a matter of law. First, nearly all of Plaintiffs’ requests on which they base their NVRA claims did not meet the notice and cure requirements of 42 U.S.C. § 1973gg-9(b). Second, Plaintiffs are not entitled to any of the Requested Documents they seek in this case under the NVRA. Neither poll books nor absentee ballot applications and envelopes fall within the NVRA Public Disclosure Provision. Mississippi’s Voter Roll does fall within that provision, but Plaintiffs already have a copy of the Voter Roll and Defendant Hosemann has conceded that it is disclosable under the NVRA Public Disclosure Provision. Moreover, Plaintiffs failed to properly request Federal Post Card Applications. Third, even if the NVRA required disclosure of the Requested Documents, the NVRA would not require Defendants to supply Plaintiffs with unredacted records disclosing birthdates under the facts of this case. For all these reasons, summary judgment in favor of Defendants is appropriate on Plaintiffs’ NVRA claims.

The Court recognizes that, in many respects, this is a case of first impression. Future cases are likely to arise where litigants dispute the contours of the NVRA Public Disclosure Provision. To ameliorate confusion among the requesters of NVRA documents and election officials at State and County levels who maintain NVRA records, as well as to avoid potentially conflicting rulings by different courts, the Court urges Congress to clarify the scope of the NVRA Public Disclosure Provision in light of other longstanding laws and the important competing interests of electoral transparency and voter registrants’ privacy.

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