Illinois Voter Registration File
| Submitted | Feb. 19, 2021 |
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Communications
From: S Barkai
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
A complete copy of the voter registration file.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Simcha Barkai
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 19, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on Feb. 19, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Illinois State Board of Elections
Under 10 ILCS 5/1A-25(4), the Illinois voter registration database is available only to political committees registered with the State Board of Elections and government entities for government. The statute also requires that the database be made available to the public during normal business hours in our Springfield office:
(4) The registration information maintained by each
election authority shall be synchronized with that authority's information on the statewide list at least once every 24 hours.
To protect the privacy and confidentiality of voter registration information, the disclosure of any portion of the centralized statewide voter registration list to any person or entity other than to a State or local political committee and other than to a governmental entity for a governmental purpose is specifically prohibited except as follows: (1) subject to security measures adopted by the State Board of Elections which, at a minimum, shall include the keeping of a catalog or database, available for public view, including the name, address, and telephone number of the person viewing the list as well as the time of that viewing, any person may view the list on a computer screen at the Springfield office of the State Board of Elections, during normal business hours other than during the 27 days before an election, but the person viewing the list under this exception may not print, duplicate, transmit, or alter the list; or (2) as may be required by an agreement the State Board of Elections has entered into with a multi-state voter registration list maintenance system.
(Source: P.A. 98-115, eff. 7-29-13; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15.)
This exempts the statewide voter database from the Illinois Freedom of Information Act under 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a):
(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)
(Text of Section from P.A. 101-434)
Sec. 7. Exemptions.
(1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure under this Section, but also contains information that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the information that is exempt. The public body shall make the remaining information available for inspection and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall be exempt from inspection and copying:
(a) Information specifically prohibited from
disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing federal or State law.
Please be advised that you have a right to have the denial of your request reviewed by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). You may file your Request for Review with the PAC by writing to:
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us>
You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court. 5 ILCS 140/11.
If you choose to file a Request for Review with the PAC, you must do so within 60 calendar days of the date of this denial letter. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). Please note that you must include a copy of your original FOIA request and this denial letter when filing a Request for Review with the PAC.
Matt Dietrich
Public Information Officer
Illinois State Board of Elections
(217)558-1955
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FOIA for voter registration file_1 (1)