WA State Keeps Laughing

The laughs just keep on rolling in out there in the great state of Washington. SoundPolitics reports that WA SecState Reed released voter birthdate records to the Seattle Times, a local newspaper; then claims that releasing them was improper. Now the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wants the records too.

Last I heard, the "so-called" governor Gregoire has named him to head a commission to look into the highly suspect goings on in the last election. Yeah, that should work. -SpinDaddy


From SoundPolitics:

Happy Birthday
We reported two weeks ago that the Seattle Times managed to obtain an exclusive copy of the state's voter registration database that included birthdates.
The Secretary of State claimed that it released the birthdate data in error and in violation of the law and demanded that the Times return the data. The Times claims that the SoS interpretation of the law is incorrect, and that it was legal for the data to be released in the first place.
Now the Seattle Post-Intelligencer had its lawyers write a stern letter to the Secretary of State demanding that it too be allowed to obtain a copy of the birthday file.
I support both the Times and the P-I on this one. The law does not preclude the Secretary of State from releasing voter birthdates, which is vital public information. Especially since our election officials insist that it's not their job to enforce voting eligibility rules, it's the electorate's job. The electorate deserves the data. That includes the Times, the P-I, and everybody else in the state. And if the SoS is going to refuse to release the data to the P-I, shouldn't the Times simply make the data available to the general public? Isn't it their duty to publish information, even (especially) when it's information the government is inappropriately keeping secret?
And kudos to the P-I for fighting to get this data. I look forward to their investigative reports!
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at 05:32 PM Comments (2)