Court rules '08 primary voting rolls are public record

By Kathy Barks Hoffman AP Political Writer LANSING (AP) -- The Michigan secretary of state's office can't refuse to show individual voting records from the state's 2008 presidential primary to an East Lansing political consultant or anyone else, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled. By a 2-1 vote, the court said in an opinion released Wednesday that Mark Grebner of Practical Political Consulting can see whether individual voters took a Democratic or Republican ballot because they're public records under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The records don't show which candidate a voter supported. Judges William Whitbeck and Stephen Borrello upheld Grebner's rights to the voting records. Judge Kirsten Frank Kelly dissented. She says the public's interest is outweighed by the voters' right to privacy. "Electors have an interest in avoiding harassment, reprisal, or retaliation that may result from public disclosure of such information," Kelly wrote in her dissent. The two affirming judges said that opening the records would not lead to the disclosure of personal information, but even if it did, "such disclosure would not constitute a 'clearly unwarranted' invasion of an individual's privacy." Secretary of state spokeswoman Kelly Chesney said state officials are still reviewing the decision and haven't decided whether to appeal. "We're disappointed with the outcome," she added. Grebner said he doesn't necessarily want the records handed out to anyone who asks for them but thinks they should be available for members of the public to check in a central location. Grebner often buys voter files from the state, adds his own information and then sells voter lists to candidates and others who want to know where likely Republican or Democratic voters live. He filed the lawsuit because he objected to the political parties controlling the presidential primary voting information without a public record being available. "It's just frightening to suggest that the records of a public election are the private property of the political parties for their profit," he said at the time. Gregner said he's sure the state will appeal Wednesday's decision, so he's not counting on getting the records any time soon, even though he thinks Whitbeck and Borrello correctly interpreted the state's FOIA law. The records in question are unusual in that no similar set of records exist. That's because election officials kept track in the January 2008 presidential primary of voters' names and whether they took Democratic or GOP ballots. Officials don't normally track which party's ballot a primary voter chooses, only whether that person votes. The state Democratic and Republican parties were supposed to get access to those presidential primary records, which they could have used to build voter lists and other databases for targeting campaign flyers, get-out-the-vote efforts and fundraising requests. But after the lawsuits were filed, the secretary of state's office decided against giving them to anyone. Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer had no comment on the court's decision. State Republican Party spokeswoman Jennifer Hoff said the GOP hasn't decided if it will ask for the records now that the Court of Appeals has ruled they should be available. But it was pleased with the decision. "It's always a win for the people when the government is transparent," Hoff said. ---------------- The case is Practical Political Consulting Inc. vs Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and the Michigan Department of State. Published: Fri, Mar 12, 2010

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