Do-it-yourself Research ProjectsTRUE the VOTE Research takes a
hands-on approach to verifying the accuracy of informaton used to
form data sets in electon processes, like voter registries and
recall pettons. Weve developed online technologies so that citzens
can research their own voter registries and take acton to report
errors.These eforts encourage our government to improve its
registry management and discourage atempts by outside partes who
intentonally submitfraudulent registratons and records. True the
Vote research also provides much needed petton data verifcaton
capabilites, as well as interstate voter registraton data
analysis.Fellow patriots, allow us to introduce you to the
wonderful world of Open Re-cords Requests ...What is an Open
Records Request (ORR)?An ORR is simply a writen request for state
or county level government documents that are not already available
in the public domain. As a US Citzen, you have the right to request
any document owned or handled by the government since, by defniton,
we are all the government. States generally have few exceptons to
ORR laws, typically including records with sensitve personal
informaton or fles pertaining to actve investgatons.Who can
submit?You! Those residing in the jurisdicton of the government
ofce that the request is being made are best suited to submit an
ORR. In some cases, you may even be able to get a reduced
processing/copy fee if you represent an established nonproft and
are using the informaton requested to educate for the public good.
Be sure to include your ORR on leterhead if you qualify.How do you
know what to ask for in an ORR? Drafing an ORR is a delicate
balancing act between making the request broad enough so that the
appropriate state or county agency can locate the informaton you
are looking for, yet specifc enough that they can search for the
documents without generatng a cumbersome amount of pages to
process.You can send an ORR request for a specifc document, a
series of documents, or documents related to a specifc subject.!
#$% &'!()*(!+ ,-..$,)*/0,Should you cite laws in an
ORR?Depending on the type of information you're after, citing the
appropriate open records law can be key to a successful request.
Concerned citizens tend to throw around the Freedom of nforma-tion
Act (FOA) as a catch-all but this can cause problems. A public
informa-tion offcer may deny your request if you are not specifc
enough in your request. Freedom of Informaton Act (FOIA) - This Act
allows you to submit requests for public informaton only to ofces
of the United States Federal Government.Your States Open Records
Law If youre in the hunt for documents held and/or generated by a
municipality, county, state or other politcal jurisdic-ton, the
local open records law should cover your right to ask for it.
Natonal Voter Registraton Act - 1hls Act contains a citzens right
to public inspecton of fles held by electon ofcials that pertain to
voter registra-ton actvites and the eforts to ensure accuracy of
the same. This law is most commonly directed to county/municipal
voter registrars and statewide ofcials. Beware: some jurisdictons
may honor this right by only allowing you to review requested
documents in person.Are there exceptions?Between the FOIA and your
states open re-cords law, you may fnd that some requests will be
denied in full or in part thanks to exceptons. When fling a
request, be care-ful Lo avold asklng for documenLs LhaL may detail
sensitve personal informaton, secure government procedures (where
public disclosure could encourage fraud/abuse) or needlessly expose
key deLalls of ongolng law enforcement investgatons.Be clear and
specifc. Your ORR must clearly describe the records you are asking
for, which means that the text of your request must be specifc
enough so LhaL a governmenL em-ployee can locate the record(s) with
a realistc amount of efort.Make sure your request is reasonable in
scope. The county can deny your request if it is too broad, so keep
it focused. You can always broaden your request later on. Always
provide a date range when possible.Keep your request brief. Include
nec-essary supportng informaton, but avoid lengthy narratves or
excessive collateral materials.Specify whether you want the records
ln paper form or elecLron-ically. Records may be provided in an
electronic form (for example, on a CD-ROM or by e-mail) when
requested and if available. This will usually lower your cosL and
speed up your request. www.truethevote.org!"#$%&'$ )*+, -#*#.
"*/- 0% +%# 1.2&31. ,%& #% 43#. #$. 51%5.1 +*). %6 ,%&1
local public records law, demonstratng your knowledge makes for a
much more formal request and beter frst impression.True the Vote
(TTV) is an IRS-designated 501(c)(3) voters rights organizaton,
founded to inspire and equip voters for involvement at every stage
of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizatons and individuals
across the naton to actvely protect the rights of legitmate voters,
regardless of their politcal party afliaton. For more informaton,
please visit www.truethevote.org.Open Records Law Know Your
StatesAlabama Open Records Law 36-12-40 et seq. Nebraska Public
Records Law 84-712 et seq.Alaska Open Records Law A.S. Code
40-25-110 et seq. nevada Cpen 8ecords AcL 239 et seq.Arizona Public
Records Law 39.101 et seq. New Hampshire Right to Know Law R.S.A.
Ch. 91-A et seq.Arkansas Freedom of Informaton Act 25-19-101 et
seq. New Jersey Open Public Records Act N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 et
seq.Colorado Open Records Law 24-72-201 eL seq.New Mexico Inspecton
of Public Records Act14-2-1 NMSA 1978 et seq.Connectcut Freedom of
Informaton Act 1-200 et seq. New York Freedom of Informaton Law
N.Y. Pub. Of. Law sec. 84 et seq.Delaware Freedom of Informaton Act
100001 et seq. North Carolina Public Records Law G.S.132-1Florida
Sunshine LawArtcle I, secton 24 of the Florida Consttuton / chapter
119, FnorLh uakoLa Cpen 8ecords Statute N.D.C.C. 44-04-18 et
seq.Georgia Open Records Act 50.18.70 et seq. Ohio Open Records Law
149.43 et seq.Hawaii Open Records Law 91-1 et seq. Oklahoma Open
Records Act 51 24A.1 et seq.Idaho Public Records Act 9-337 et seq.
Oregon Public Records Law O.R.S.192.410 et seq.Illinois Freedom of
Informaton Act 5 ILCS 140 Pennsylvania Right to Know Law 65 66.1 et
seq.Indiana Access to Public Records Act 5-14-3-1 et seq. Rhode
Island Access to Public 8ecords AcL38-2-1 et seq.Iowa Open Records
Law 22.1 et seq.South Carolina Freedom of Informaton Act30-4-10 et
seq.kansas Cpen 8ecords AcL 45-215 et seq. South Dakota Sunshine
Law 1-27-1 et seq.kenLucky Cpen 8ecords AcL 61.872 et seq.
1ennessee Cpen 8ecords AcL 10-7-503 et seq.Louisiana Public Records
Act 44:1 et seq. Texas Public Informaton ActTexas Government Code
Annotated Secton 552.001 et seq.Malne lreedom of Access AcL 402 et
seq.Utah Government Records Access and ManagemenL AcL63-2-101 et
seq.Maryland Public Informaton ActChapter 7(C), Artcle - General
Provisions: GP 4-206Vermont Public Records Law 315 et
seq.Massachusets Public Records Act 66-10 et seq. Virginia Freedom
of Informaton Act 2.2-3704 et seq.Michigan Freedom of Informaton
Act 15.231 et seq. Washington Public Records Act 42.56 et
seq.Minnesota Government Data Practces Act 13.01 et seq.West
Virginia Freedom of Informaton Act29-B-1-1 et seq.Mississippi
Public Records Act 25-61-1 et seq. Wisconsin Open Records Law 19.31
et seq.Missouri Sunshine Law 610.023 et seq. Wyoming Sunshine Law
16-4-201 et seq.Montana Public Records Act 2-6-101 et seq.
