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September 14, 2000; Minnesota Secretary of State
9/14/2000 10:14:43 AM
This is an opinion of the Commissioner of Administration issued pursuant to section 13.072 of Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 - the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. It is based on the facts and information available to the Commissioner as described below.
Facts and Procedural History:For purposes of simplification, the information presented by the government entity that requested this opinion are presented in summary form. Copies of the complete submissions are on file at the offices of IPA and, except for any data that are not public, are available for public access. On July 14, 2000, IPA received a letter dated July 13, 2000, from Mary Kiffmeyer, Secretary of the State of Minnesota. In her letter, Secretary Kiffmeyer asked the Commissioner to issue an advisory opinion regarding the classification of certain voter registration data. A summary of the facts is as follows. Secretary Kiffmeyer related that Minnesota Statutes, section 201.091, governs access to registered voter lists. Pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 201.091, every county auditor must make a public information list available for inspection. This public information list must contain the name, address, telephone number (if provided), year of birth, and voting history of each registered voter in the county. Any individual wishing to inspect the public list must provide identification to the county auditor and state in writing that any information obtained from the list will not be used for purposes unrelated to elections, political activities, or law enforcement. Secretary Kiffmeyer further related that pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 204C.10, each registered voter, before voting on election day, must sign a polling place roster. The polling place roster is a list of registered voters who live in a particular precinct. It contains the voter's name, address, entire date of birth, and voter registration status. No statute or rule specifically discusses the inspection of polling place rosters. However, because a roster is a list of registered voters produced from the statewide voter registration system, the Secretary of State's Office has held the opinion that the provisions of Minnesota Statutes, section 201.091, govern the inspection of the roster. To resolve any confusion or inconsistency regarding inspection of polling place rosters, the Secretary of State's Office recently proposed a rule that Administrative Law Judge Barbara Neilson heard on July 11, 2000. The proposed Rule states: An individual who asks to inspect a polling place roster used on election day must provide the county auditor with identification and a written request stating the information required by Minnesota Statutes 201.091, subdivision 4. Before fulfilling the request for inspection, the auditor must conceal (1) the month and day of birth and challenge status of each person on the roster; and 2) all information concerning a registrant under court-ordered protection who has submitted a written request for omission under Minnesota Statutes 201.091, subdivision 4. Judge Neilson issued her report on August 11, 2000. She concluded: The Administrative Law Judge finds that the majority of the proposed rule is needed and reasonable to effectuate the requirements of Minnesota Statutes 201.091. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of that statute, taken together, authorize the Secretary of State to withhold from public inspection the month and day of birth of a registered voter. Subdivision 4 of that statute further authorizes the Secretary to withhold from the public information list the name of any registered voter placed under court-ordered protection if the voter so requests and provides a copy of the court order. The Administrative Law Judge concludes, however, that the portion of the proposed rules requiring auditors to conceal a voter's challenge status from public inspection conflicts with [Chapter 13]....To cure this defect, the Administrative Law Judge suggests that the Secretary of State revise the language of the second sentence of the proposed rule [sic] delete the reference to challenge status. Issues:In her request for an opinion, Secretary Kiffmeyer asked the Commissioner to address the following issues:
Discussion:Issue 1At this time, Minnesota Statutes, section 201.091, does not state explicitly that it regulates polling place rosters. However, the Commissioner agrees that because the roster is a list of registered voters produced from the statewide voter registration system - which is governed by section 201.091 - it is appropriate that section 201.091 control access to the rosters. Applying the same access standards currently in effect for registered voter lists to polling place rosters will ensure consistency. The Commissioner would like to add, however, that the best way to eliminate any possible confusion over the issue of access to polling place rosters is for the Legislature to amend section 201.091 so that it clearly governs rosters. Issue 2In her opinion request, Secretary Kiffmeyer provided detail about challenge or voter registration status. She wrote, ...the status may be active'; challenged' (usually due to residency questions); felon' (disfranchised until the restoration of voting rights); or guardianship' (disfranchised until the guardianship of the person is ended). In her report, Judge Neilson, reviewed the three types of data in the proposed rule for which the Secretary proposed protection. The Judge noted that language in section 201.091 specifically authorizes the Secretary to withhold birth day and birth month data, and data about a registrant under court-ordered protection. She further noted that there is no statutory provision protecting data relating to challenge status. She concluded, therefore, based on the presumption that all government data are public unless otherwise classified (see Minnesota Statutes, section 13.03. subdivision 1), that protection of the challenge status data would conflict with Chapter 13. The Commissioner agrees with Judge Neilson's conclusion on this matter and opines that challenge status data are public. Challenge status data are government data and are subject to the requirements of Chapter 13. Pursuant to the presumption set forth in section 13.03, subdivision 1, government data are public unless otherwise classified. Although section 201.091 does classify certain voter data as not public, it does not classify challenge status data (active, challenged, felon, or guardianship) as not public. Therefore, based on the presumption set forth in section 13.03, subdivision 1, the Commissioner opines that the challenge status data are public. Opinion:Based on the facts and information provided, my opinion on the issues that Secretary Kiffmeyer raised is as follows:
Signed:
David F. Fisher
Dated: September 14, 2000 |
Government Data
Voter registration files (201.091)
