Nosy neighbors could know your votes

RICHMOND

Days before the Nov. 3 election, many Virginians were surprised to learn that their personal voting history was about to be disclosed to their neighbors.

The mass mailing, which would have gone to 350,000 households, was aborted at the last minute amid indications that the information might have been acquired illegally.

However, if legislation now working its way through the General Assembly is approved, voters should brace themselves. When the next election rolls around, their voting records might well end up being more widely disseminated.

Voter history lists are maintained by the State Board of Elections. They don't reveal whom a citizen voted for, but they do show who voted in which election. Under current law, the lists can be released only to candidates, elected officials and political party chair s, who typically use them for targeted mailings and get-out-the-vote efforts.

A bill, SB624, sponsored by state Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax County, would allow the lists to be obtained by "nonprofit organizations that promote voter participation and registration " also.

The Know Campaign, the nonprofit group that planned the mailing last fall, fits that description. Modeled after an experiment conducted during a 2006 Michigan primary, the campaign was designed to spur people to the polls by implying that if they didn't vote, their neighbors would be informed.

An analysis of the Michigan experiment found that it was remarkably effective in pushing people to the polls.

Howell's bill is a direct outgrowth of a lawsuit filed by the Know Campaign against the elections board, saying that denying voter history lists to such groups is unconstitutional. The lawsuit has been settled.

The settlement agreement anticipates that the law will be changed so that groups such as the Know Campaign can acquire the lists legally. If and when that happens, the elections board - represented by the office of Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli - has agreed to provide 10 statewide lists to the Know Campaign at no charge and to pay $25,000 toward the group's legal fees.

Anthony Troy, a former attorney general who represents the Know Campaign, said Friday the group simply wants equal access to information that is doled out only to favored recipients under current law.

"It's pretty clearly an unconstitutional statute," he said. "The attorney general's office knows it has no defense. If the statute is not changed and there's another denial, there'll be another lawsuit."

The Know Campaign presents itself to be a nonpartisan group interested only in boosting voter turnout. However, several lawmakers expressed concerns Friday about advocacy groups getting access to the voter lists.

Del. Dave Albo, R-Fairfax County, wanted to know: What about "two guys sitting in their mom's basement" whose only purpose is tarring a candidate with scurrilous accusations? Would they be able to get the information?

Wes Russell, a deputy attorney general, agreed that it is a difficult line to draw. "You run into a free-speech problem," he said.

Some people don't think the line should be drawn at all.

"We don't favor 'carve-outs' - opening records only to certain groups," Megan Rhyne, executive director of the nonprofit Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said in an interview. "That makes us very uncomfortable. You should open them to everyone or to no one.

"Otherwise, you get into the business of asking people why they want the records and what they're going to do with them," she said. "Then you're getting into dangerous territory."

Bill Sizemore, (804) 697-1560, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com