On October 1, a Virginia state circuit court in Richmond granted a preliminary injunction, allowing the group called “The Know Campaign” to obtain the list of which voters voted in the last election.  “The Know Campaign” is a non-partisan group that wishes to increase voter turnout.  It believes that if ordinary voters know that whether or not they vote becomes a public record, they will be more likely to vote.

The list of which voters cast a ballot in the last election is not the same as the list of registered voters.  Some years ago a Virginia court had ruled that the list of who voted cannot be limited just to political parties and candidates, and ruled that Political Action Groups can see that list.  The legislature then expanded the list of groups that can see the list to include PAC’s.  Earlier this year the legislature considered expanding the list further.  The Senate passed the bill, but then the House completely altered the bill’s impact, and ruled that no one can see the list.  The Senate didn’t approve that version of the bill, so no legislative action was taken.

The lawsuit is The Know Campaign v Rodrigues, cl-09-005389-00.  UPDATE:  here is the court order.