Maine Statutes § 196-A Use and distribution of central voter registration system information

Statute Text

1. Access to data from the central voter registration system. For the purposes of Title 1, section 402 , information contained electronically in the central voter registration system and any information or reports generated by the system are confidential and may be accessed only by municipal and state election officials for the purposes of election and voter registration administration, and by others only as provided in this section.

A. An individual voter may obtain any information contained in that voter's record within the central voter registration system either from the registrar in the voter's municipality of residence or from the Secretary of State. The individual voter information must be made available to that voter upon request and free of charge. The Secretary of State may design a report to facilitate providing information to an individual voter. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

B. A political party, or an individual or organization engaged in so-called "get out the vote" efforts directly related to a campaign or other activities directly related to a campaign, or an individual who has been elected or appointed to and is currently serving in a municipal, county, state or federal office, may purchase a list or report of certain voter information from the central voter registration system by making a request to the Secretary of State or to a registrar if the information requested concerns voters in that municipality. The Secretary of State or the registrar shall make available the following voter record information, subject to the fees set forth in subsection 2 : the voter's name, residence address, mailing address, year of birth, enrollment status, electoral districts, voter status, date of registration, date of change of the voter record if applicable, voter participation history, voter record number and any special designations indicating uniformed service voters, overseas voters or township voters. A person obtaining, either directly or indirectly, information from the central voter registration system under this paragraph may not:

(1) Sell, transfer to another person or use the voter information or any part of the voter information for any purpose that is not directly related to activities of a political party, "get out the vote" efforts directly related to a campaign or other activities directly related to a campaign; or

(2) Cause the voter information or any part of the voter information that identifies, or that could be used with other information to identify, a specific voter, including but not limited to a voter's name, residence address or street address, to be made accessible by the general public on the Internet or through other means.

This paragraph does not prohibit a political party, party committee, candidate committee, political action committee or any other organization that purchased voter information from the central voter registration system from providing access to such information to its members, volunteers or employees for purposes directly related to party activities, "get out the vote" efforts or a campaign. For purposes of this paragraph, "campaign" has the same meaning as in section 1052 , subsection 1 . [ 2021, c. 310, §1 (AMD).]

C. The registrar shall make available, in electronic form and free of charge, upon the request of any person authorized under section 312 to obtain a municipal caucus list, the following voter record information for each voter in the municipality: the voter's name, residence address, mailing address, enrollment status, electoral districts, voter status, voter record number and any special designation indicating whether the voter is a uniformed service voter, overseas voter or township voter. The Secretary of State also shall make available the statewide caucus list, in electronic form and free of charge, to the state committee of each political party. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

D. A municipal clerk or registrar shall make available to any person upon request and free of charge an electronic list of voters who requested or were furnished absentee ballots for their municipality for a specified election. The Secretary of State may make available free of charge the statewide absentee voter list in electronic form. The electronic list must include the information provided in section 753-B , subsection 6 , paragraph A, except that the voter's record number must be provided instead of the voter's name and residence address. In addition, a municipal clerk or registrar shall make available upon request, subject to the fees set forth in subsection 2 , paragraph A, the printed list, created and maintained pursuant to section 753-B , of voters who requested or were furnished absentee ballots. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

E. The Secretary of State or a registrar may make available, upon the request of any other governmental or quasi-governmental entity, certain voter information for that entity's authorized use only. The following information may be provided in electronic form and free of charge: the voter's name, year of birth, residence address, mailing address, electoral districts, voter status, date of registration or date of change of the voter record if applicable, voter record number and any special designations indicating uniformed service voters, overseas voters or township voters. Data made available under this paragraph may not be used for solicitation or for purposes other than the governmental or quasi-governmental entity's authorized activities and may not be redistributed.

Authorized uses of the data by the Legislature include providing voter information to a Legislator for purposes of communicating with the Legislator's constituents and conducting legislative business. [ 2011, c. 534, §11 (AMD).]

F. The Secretary of State shall make available to any person upon request and free of charge the following voter record information in electronic form: either the voter's first name or last name, but not both names in the same report; year of birth; enrollment status; electoral districts to include congressional district and county only; voter status; date of registration or date of change of the voter record if applicable; date of the last statewide election in which the voter voted; and any special designations indicating uniformed service voters, overseas voters or township voters. The Secretary of State or the registrar also may make available to any person upon request and free of charge any report or statistical information that does not contain the names, dates of birth, voter record numbers or addresses of individual voters. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

G. The Secretary of State or a registrar shall make available free of charge any information pertaining to individual voters, other than participants in the Address Confidentiality Program established in Title 5, section 90-B , that is contained in the central voter registration system to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency that makes a written request to use the information for a bona fide law enforcement purpose or to a person identified by a court order if directed by that order. Information pertaining to individual voters who are Address Confidentiality Program participants that is contained in the central voter registration system may be made available for inspection to a law enforcement agency that is authorized by the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 5, section 90-B to obtain Address Confidentiality Program information. Data made available under this paragraph may not be used for purposes other than law enforcement or as directed in the court order. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

H. When responding to a request about a specific voter registered in a specific municipality, the registrar of that municipality or the Secretary of State may use information contained in the central voter registration system to provide the registration status, enrollment status and electoral districts for that voter. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

I. The Secretary of State shall make available free of charge to the federal or state court system the voter registration information for voters, other than participants in the Address Confidentiality Program established in Title 5, section 90-B , statewide or by district as requested for the purpose of jury selection or other bona fide court purposes. [ 2013, c. 131, §10 (NEW).]

J. An individual or organization that is evaluating the State's compliance with its voter list maintenance obligations may, consistent with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 52 United States Code, Section 20507 (i) (2021), purchase a list or report of the voter information described in paragraph B from the central voter registration system by making a request to the Secretary of State and paying the fee set forth in subsection 2 . A person obtaining, either directly or indirectly, voter information from the central voter registration system under this paragraph may not:

(1) Sell, transfer to another person or use the voter information or any part of the information for any purpose that is not directly related to evaluating the States compliance with its voter list maintenance obligations; or

[ 2021, c. 310, §§1, 2 (AMD).]

2. Fees. For the purpose of calculating fees pursuant to this section, a record includes the information on one individual voter. Fees paid to the Secretary of State must be deposited into a dedicated fund for the purpose of offsetting the cost of providing the information and maintaining the central voter registration system and other authorized costs relating to compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666. A municipality may keep the fees paid to the municipality. The fees for information provided pursuant to this section are as follows:

A. The fee for information provided in printed form is $1 for the first page and 25¢ per page for all additional pages, except that the fee for additional pages of mailing labels is 75¢ per page; and [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

B. The fee for information provided in electronic form is based on the number of records requested. The fee entitles the requestor to receive the initial electronic report or file and, upon request, up to 11 updates free of charge during the subsequent 12-month period, except that no more than one free update may be requested during any 30-day period. The fee schedule is as follows:

(1) For 900,001 or more voter records, $2,200;

(2) For 600,001 to 900,000 voter records, $1,650;

(3) For 400,001 to 600,000 voter records, $1,100;

(4) For 250,001 to 400,000 voter records, $825;

(5) For 150,001 to 250,000 voter records, $550;

(6) For 100,001 to 150,000 voter records, $275;

(7) For 75,001 to 100,000 voter records, $220;

(8) For 50,001 to 75,000 voter records, $182;

(9) For 35,001 to 50,000 voter records, $138;

(10) For 25,001 to 35,000 voter records, $83;

(11) For 15,001 to 25,000 voter records, $55;

(12) For 7,501 to 15,000 voter records, $33;

(13) For 1,001 to 7,500 voter records, $22; or

(14) For 1 to 1,000 voter records, $11. [ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

[ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

3. Response to requests. Municipal clerks, registrars and the Secretary of State's office shall respond to all requests for information from the central voter registration system pursuant to this section within 5 business days of receipt of a written request and upon payment of any applicable fee. A municipal clerk or registrar may provide only information concerning voters registered within that municipal jurisdiction. The Secretary of State may design a form to be used for all requests for information or lists from the central voter registration system.

[ 2009, c. 564, §8 (NEW).]

4. Discrimination prohibited. An individual or organization that accesses or obtains voter information from the central voter registration system may not use that information or any part of that information to engage in discrimination on the basis of physical or mental disability, race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, ancestry or national origin, including but not limited to discrimination prohibited by the Maine Human Rights Act and federal civil rights laws. For purposes of this paragraph, "federal civil rights laws" means the following federal laws and statutes, as amended, and the regulations promulgated under those laws and statutes, as amended, as of January 1, 2021:

A. Title II of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 United States Code, Sections 12131 to 12165 ; [ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

B. Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 United States Code, Section 794 ; [ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

C. Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 United States Code, Sections 2000d to 2000d-7 ; [ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

D. The federal Older Americans Amendments of 1975, 42 United States Code, Sections 6101 to 6107 ; and [ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

E. Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972, 20 United States Code, Sections 1681 to 1688 . [ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

[ 2021, c. 310, §3 (NEW).]

5. Penalty. A person who:

A. Violates subsection 1 or subsection 4 commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $1,000 may be adjudged; and [ 2021, c. 310, §4 (NEW).]

B. Violates subsection 1 or subsection 4 after having previously violated either subsection 1 or subsection 4 commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $5,000 may be adjudged. [ 2021, c. 310, §4 (NEW).]

For purposes of this subsection, each voter's information that a person causes to be made accessible to the general public in violation of subsection 1 , paragraph B or J constitutes a separate offense.

[ 2021, c. 310, §4 (NEW).]

History

Amended by 2021SP1 , c. 310 , § 4 , eff. 10/18/2021 .

Amended by 2021SP1 , c. 310 , § 3 , eff. 10/18/2021 .

Amended by 2021SP1 , c. 310 , § 2 , eff. 10/18/2021 .

Amended by 2021SP1 , c. 310 , § 1 , eff. 10/18/2021 .

Amended by 2016 , c. 447 , § 7 , eff. 4/10/2016 .

Amended by 2013 , c. 330 , § 1 , eff. 10/9/2013 .

Amended by 2013 , c. 131 , § 10 , eff. 10/9/2013 .

Amended by 2012 , c. 534 , § 11 , eff. 8/30/2012 .

2009, c. 564, § 8 (NEW) .

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