By Christie Bleck
March 17, 2008 04:00 am There's a decided lack of sunshine in Michigan. And it's not just from the long Midwest winter. As we mark Sunshine Week, a national initiative to recognize the importance of open government and open records, Michigan needs to right a major wrong. On Aug. 30, 2007, the state House, without a public hearing, quickly passed a Senate-approved measure to move up the 2008 presidential primary to Jan. 15. The bill was signed into law a few days later by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Part of that hastily passed legislation exempted the Jan. 15 presidential primary voter lists from the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, but allowed the major political parties to have access to voters' names and which party's ballot they took. This violates a basic tenet of our democracy. Information from an election paid for with public dollars should be public. It says so plainly in the Michigan Constitution and state open records law. The primary cost taxpayers more than $10 million, but the new law makes it a crime for anyone except officials from the two major political parties to use the information. Historians, journalists, political consultants, ballot committees or candidates using the information in the future could be charged with a misdemeanor. Because Michigan does not require voters to register by party, the new presidential primary lists contain that valuable party preference information, and the parties will get the information for free. Michigan's Freedom of Information Act was enacted in the post-Watergate era along with the Michigan Open Meetings Act in 1976. These reforms were designed to keep sunshine -- nature's best disinfectant -- shining on the public process. But with the passage of time, this principle appears to have been lost in the clouds. FOIA does allow certain exceptions that keep some information from the public eye, such as an ongoing criminal investigation. But creating new exemptions should only be done after weighing whether they are justified. In the case of the presidential primary vote, the Legislature blithely exempted information with no discussion and no chance for the public to object. The presidential primary law was upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court, but the voting information has not been given yet to the Republican and Democratic parties. A federal lawsuit has been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on behalf of the Green, Libertarian and Reform parties of Michigan, the Detroit weekly newspaper Metro Times and a political consulting firm. A judge last month issued a restraining order to keep the lists from the political parties until a decision is made on the constitutionality of the law. The judge may eventually declare the law a violation of the First Amendment. But the public needs to remember that, in passing the presidential primary law, our legislators and governor not only shuttered the windows and doors of public access, they nailed them closed. Lansing needs to undo what it has done and take seriously the need for open records. Let the sun shine in Michigan. About the author: Christie Bleck is president of the Mid-Michigan chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists About the forum: The forum is a periodic column of opinion written by Record-Eagle readers in their areas of interest or expertise. Submissions of 500 words or less may be made by e-mailing letters@record-eagle.com. Please include biographical information and a photo.
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