Signage at an early voting center on Sept. 23, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A federal court Tuesday ruled that while Alabama must provide certain voting records on request, it is not required to provide them in an electronic format. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Tuesday ruled that while Alabama must disclose certain voter records upon request, the state is not required to provide them in electronic format.
The ruling involves Greater Birmingham Ministries (GBM) and the Alabama Secretary of State. In 2021, GBM requested voter registration records to assist previously disenfranchised individuals in restoring their voting rights. When Alabama’s Secretary of State denied the request for electronic records, GBM filed a lawsuit in 2022, claiming that the refusal violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
That year, U.S. District Court Judge Myron Thompson ruled in favor of GBM , requiring former Secretary of State John Merrill to provide at a “reasonable fee” GBM voter registration records “based on the actual costs that defendant Merrill incurs in their production to Greater Birmingham Ministries.