Commission EPIC v Commission EPIC v. Commission Voter Privacy Voting Privacy
Court Criticizes Presidential Election Commission for Withholding Documents from the Public
A federal judge in Washington, DC expressed disbelief this week at the Presidential Election Commission’s failure to disclose documents from the July 19 inaugural public meeting. The Commission failed to make available to the public the meeting agenda and a 381-page “voter fraud” report prepared by a special interest group that was circulated privately to Commission members. Speaking at a court hearing, the federal judge overseeing the case criticized the Commission for failing “to live up to the government’s representations," about transparency. The Commission is attempting to assemble a nationwide database of voter data over the objections of state election officials. But earlier this summer, the Commission suspended collection of voter data in response to a lawsuit brought by EPIC. EPIC’s case, which calls for the disclosure of a Privacy Impact Assessment prior to the collection, is now on appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.