PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2024
Phil Lyman Continues Unprecedented GRAMA Campaign in Push for Election Transparency
SALT LAKE CITY — Over the last week, Republican convention winner and write-in candidate for governor Phil Lyman submitted two important GRAMA requests in his quest to bring election transparency to Utah. The first requested access to Utah’s voter rolls based on the South Carolina decision that the 1993 National Voter Registration Act requires voter rolls to be public record and available for inspection. The second, also quoting the NVRA, requests data from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), the Soros-associated 501(c)(3) non-profit responsible for maintaining voter rolls across the country, including in Utah.
In the South Carolina decision, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. sided with the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) and ruled that South Carolina’s policy of restricting access to the state’s voter rolls violates the NVRA and that the state must yield to federal law. Judge Anderson further stated that “the NVRA is a broad statute which covers all records ‘concerning’ efforts made to maintain an accurate and current list of eligible voters.” Accordingly, Lyman requested "a copy of the statewide voter registration database, including data for voters classified as ‘private’ or ‘withheld.’”
Former state representative Steve Christiansen requested voter roll information and elections records in 2021 and was denied by Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, who justified the denial by stating that the information requested was too “voluminous” and would require extensive redaction.
In addition, Lyman requested all data received from ERIC in 2023 and 2024 regarding voters who registered or received a driver’s license in another state, moved within Utah, had duplicate registrations, passed away outside of Utah, or cast ballots in more than one state.
“The NVRA is clear that this information, including associated records, is public record that must be available for public inspection,” Lyman said. “We applaud Judge Anderson for upholding this important federal law and the Public Interest Legal Foundation for fighting this battle. We are simply asking Lieutenant Governor Henderson to comply with federal law in producing these public records. Any redactions must also comply with the NVRA. We look forward to her response.”
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