Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Schmidt

Pennsylvania allows United States citizens to register to vote when interacting with the Department of Transportation offices, including during driver's license applications. States covered by the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) are required to offer this option. 

In 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of State (“Department”) discovered a software problem in which some non-citizens may have inadvertently been registered to vote when applying for or renewing their driver's licenses. After investigating and consulting experts, the state government subsequently sent about 11,000 Pennsylvanians letters asking them to affirm their eligibility to vote. About 1,900 responded and confirmed their eligibility to vote, while the remainder either did not respond, had their mail returned as undeliverable, or canceled their voter registrations. 

Subsequently, the Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), an “election integrity” group, requested that the Department provide a wide range of records on information related to the software glitch, including but not limited to:  

1. “Documents regarding all registrants who were identified as potentially not satisfying the citizenship requirements for registration from any official information source, including information obtained from the various agencies within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and [PennDOT] since January 1, 2006.”
2. “All documents and records of communication received or maintained by your office from registered voters, legal counsel, claimed relatives, or other agents since January 1, 2006 requesting a removal or cancellation from the voter roll for any reason related to non-U.S. citizenship/ineligibility.”
3. “All documents and records of communication received or maintained by your office from jury selection officials — state and federal — since January 1, 2006 referencing individuals who claimed to be non-U.S. citizens when attempting to avoid serving a duty call.”
4. “All communications regarding list maintenance activities relating to #1 through #3 above to appropriate local prosecutors, Pennsylvania Attorney General, Pennsylvania State Police, any other state law enforcement agencies, the United States Attorney’s office, or the Federal Bureau of Investigation.” 

The Department refused to provide the records, asserting that it was only required to provide information about certain legally required voter list maintenance programs, and not the categories PILF requested.  

PILF then filed a federal lawsuit on April 10, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, asserting it was entitled to the records under the NVRA. After extended litigation, in February 2023, the district court allowed PILF to access some of the records at issue, including the names and addresses of approximately 9,100 people who did not respond to the letters sent out to confirm voter eligibility.  

The Department then appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. On September 13, 2023, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief in support of the Department, urging the court to reject an attempt to disclose voters’ personal information to a private, third-party group like PILF. The brief highlighted the purpose of the NVRA as a law to protect eligible voters and encourage civic participation. It argued PILF's effort to attain the names of voters was unnecessary, in conflict with the goals of the NVRA, a threat to the right of privacy, and something that could keep eligible voters from casting a ballot. The League further argued that disclosure of personal information could spur instances of voter intimidation, harassment, or wrongful accusations of voter fraud. 

On September 11, 2024, a panel of three judges heard oral arguments in this case. On April 25, 2025, the court reversed the district court, ruling that PILF had no standing to sue the Department. The plaintiffs then asked for the full Third Circuit to rehear the case. This request was denied on June 30, 2025.  

The League was represented in this matter by Morgan, Lewis, & Bockius LLP.