Federal Voter Registration Law Preempts New Mexico Restrictions

The National Voter Registration Act preempts New Mexico’s restrictions on voter data use and sharing, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, affirming a lower court’s holding.

New Mexico’s “use restrictions” and “data sharing ban” conflict with the NVRA’s goals, Judge Timothy M. Tymkovich ruled for the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. The appellate court sided with Voter Reference Foundation, which challenged New Mexico’s laws after it was referred for criminal investigation for publishing publicly available voter information.

“By refusing to produce VRF’s requested voter data per the Use Restrictions, we find that the state violated the NVRA,” ...