Mississippi Advisory Opinions March 27, 2015: AGO 2015-00065 (March 27, 2015)

Advisory Opinion Text

AUTH: Liz Bolin

RQNM: Kim Turner

SUBJ: Open Records

SBCD: 27

TEXT: Kimberly P. Turner, Esq.

Assistant Secretary of State, Elections Division

P.O. Box 136

Jackson, MS 39205

Re: Public record requests pertaining to candidate qualifying documents

Dear Mrs. Turner:

Attorney General Hood is in receipt of your request for an official opinion and it has been assigned to me for research and reply.

Background and Question Presented

Your request concerns requests for information submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act. Specifically, your question states:

"whether personal information such as home addresses, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses must be protected, and therefore, redacted, prior to disclosing information in response to a request for public information pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act, including requests seeking voter registration files pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-165."

Having received your request and after several conversations with you and your staff, we understand your question to be, specifically, whether any personal information, including addresses, contained within candidate qualifying forms should be redacted when responding to requests for candidate qualifying forms made pursuant to the Mississippi Public Records Act.

Applicable Law and Analysis

The Mississippi Public Records Act (the Act), Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-61-1 et seq., describes procedures governing public access to public records. Regarding voter registration files, Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-165 speaks specifically to information contained in those records which is exempt from the Act and reads in part:

(6)(a) Social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information in statewide, district, county and municipal voter registration files shall be exempt from and shall not be subject to inspection, examination, copying or reproduction under the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983.

(b) Copies of statewide, district, county or municipal voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information, shall be provided to any person in accordance with the Mississippi Public Records Act of 1983 at a cost not to exceed the actual cost of production.

This office has issued a number of prior opinions regarding the redaction of personal information contained in public records.

In MS AG Op., Smith (July 2, 1984), this office opined:

. . . documents which contain additional information which has not been released to the public and which infringe upon the rights of privacy of individual teachers should not be released but should be exempt. This office is of the opinion that addresses of employees, telephone numbers, and other related personal information is the type of public information to which those seeking such would not be entitled.

Regarding the redaction of personal information, in MS AG Op., Berryman (March 22, 2013), we noted that Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-1-111 read in conjunction with Miss. Code Ann. Section 23-15-165 and the Act are "indicative of a general policy of the state with regard to the release of sensitive personal information, including social security numbers and birth dates."

We were unable to locate any Mississippi case law directly on point regarding the redaction of personal information found on candidate qualifying forms subject to production under the Act. Thus, we look to other jurisdictions for guidance. In a case involving a public record request for candidate qualifying forms under New Hampshire's Right-to-Know Law, the New Hampshire Supreme Court stated:

... a candidate's decision to apply for an elected public office places his or her qualifications for that office at issue, and, consequently, requires members of the public, either individually or through their representatives, to evaluate the particular candidate. Thus, a candidate voluntarily seeking to fill an elected public office has a diminished privacy expectation in personal information relevant to that office.

Lambert v. Belknap County Convention, 949 A.2d 709 (N.H., 2008).

In evaluating the public's interest in disclosure, the same Court noted that members of the public should have the opportunity to evaluate candidates and their qualifications. Quoting City of Kenai v. Kenai Peninsula Newspapers, Inc., 642 P.2d 1316, (Alaska, 1982), the Court recognized:

Disclosing the names and applications of applicants allows interested members of the public ... to verify the accuracy of the representation made by the applicants, and to seek additional information which may be relevant to the selection process.

Lambert at 384. The Court recognized that in balancing the public's interest against candidates' privacy interests, the public has a significant interest in information about the candidates seeking elected positions. Id. at 385. "By applying to fill an elected public office, the candidates surrendered much of the privacy secured by law for those who elect not to place themselves in the public spotlight." Id. (quoting Hatfield v. Bush, 540 So.2d 1178 (La.Ct.App. 1989).

Conclusion

It remains our opinion that generally, and unless authorized or required by statute, information such as addresses, telephone numbers, and other related personal information including dates of birth, social security numbers, and driver's license numbers should not be made public pursuant to a public records request. MS AG Ops., Neyman (January 31, 2014); Smith (July 2, 1984); Stanton (November 7, 2014). With regard to candidate qualifying forms, we are of the opinion that information which is necessary to verify or evaluate the candidate's qualifications, such as a street address (residential address) or date of birth, is not subject to redaction. However, information such as email addresses, telephone numbers, and mailing addresses (post office boxes) should be redacted prior to disclosure.

With regard to voter registration files, we note that Section 23-15-165(6)(b) speaks specifically to information which must be redacted and states "copies of statewide, district, county or municipal voter registration files, excluding social security numbers, telephone numbers and date of birth and age information, shall be provided to any person . . ." Given the specificity of the statute, we are of the opinion that addresses found in voter registration files are not subject to redaction.

Please let us know if this office can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

JIM HOOD, ATTORNEY GENERAL.

Elizabeth S. Bolin, Special Assistant Attorney General.