§ 2154. Statewide voter checklist

(a) The Secretary of State shall maintain a uniform and nondiscriminatory statewide voter checklist. This checklist shall serve as the official voter registration list for all elections in the State. In maintaining the statewide voter checklist, the Secretary shall:

(1) limit a town clerk to adding, modifying, or deleting applicant and voter information on the portion of the checklist for that clerk’s municipality;

(2) limit access to the statewide voter checklist for a local elections official to verifying whether the applicant is registered in another municipality in the State by a search for the individual voter;

(3) notify a local elections official when a voter registered in that official’s district registers in another voting district so that the voter may be removed from that official’s district checklist;

(4) provide adequate security to prevent unauthorized access to the checklist;

(5) ensure the compatibility and comparability of information on the checklist with information contained in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ computer systems; and

(6) make reasonable efforts on an ongoing basis to compare the information on the checklist with data or information contained in any State agency‘s database, a database administered by the federal government, or any database of another state or consortium of states, where possible, in an effort to maintain the accuracy and currency of the checklist.

(b)(1) A registered voter’s month and day of birth, driver’s license or nondriver identification number, telephone number, e-mail address, and the last four digits of his or her Social Security number shall be kept confidential and are exempt from public inspection and copying under the Public Records Act.

(2) A public agency as defined in 1 V.S.A. § 317 and any officer, employee, agent, or independent contractor of a public agency shall not knowingly disclose a copy of all of the statewide voter checklist, a municipality’s portion of the statewide voter checklist, or any other municipal voter checklist to any foreign government or to a federal agency or commission or to a person acting on behalf of a foreign government or of such a federal entity for the purpose of:

(A) registration of a voter based on his or her information maintained in the checklist;

(B) publicly disclosing a voter’s information maintained in the checklist; or

(C) comparing a voter’s information maintained in the checklist to personally identifying information contained in other federal or state databases.

(c)(1) Any person wishing to obtain a copy of all of the statewide voter checklist must swear or affirm, under penalty of perjury pursuant to 13 Vt. Stat. Ann. chapter 65, that the person will not:

(A) use the checklist for commercial purposes; or

(B) knowingly disclose the checklist to any foreign government or to a federal agency or commission or to a person acting on behalf of a foreign government or of such a federal entity in circumvention of the prohibited purposes for using the checklist set forth in subdivision (b)(2) of this section.

(2) The affirmation shall be filed with the Secretary of State.

(d) An elections official shall not access the portion of the statewide voter checklist that is exempt from public inspection pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(31), except for elections purposes. (Added 2003, No. 59, § 7; amended 2015, No. 23, § 8; 2015, No. 30, § 2, eff. May 26, 2015; 2017, No. 50, § 4; 2017, No. 128 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 16, 2018; 2019, No. 67, § 8a; 2021, No. 60, § 22, eff. June 7, 2021.)