Judge Rules New Mexico Officials Violated Federal Law by Restricting Access to Voter Data

Judge said that New Mexico violated the Public Inspection Provision by denying the group’s request for voter data.

The U.S. and New Mexico flags fly before the upcoming midterm elections in Albuquerque, N.M., on Oct. 1, 2018. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

A federal judge has ruled that New Mexico officials violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) by refusing to provide voter data to a conservative-backed group named Voter Reference Foundation.

In a 329-page ruling on March 29, Albuquerque-based U.S. District Judge James Browning said the New Mexico secretary of state’s office and the state’s attorney general had violated the Public Inspection Provision by denying the group’s request for voter data.