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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- An elections activist is suing Summit County and the state over state election laws she says are incompatible with federal law.
Park City resident Kathy Dopp filed the complaint in federal court on Sept. 20, naming Utah Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert and Summit County Clerk Kent Jones as defendants in her suit.
Dopp requested voter registration records from the county through Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act throughout 2006. Her request was denied so she and her attorney, Brian Barnard, are suing under the National Voter Registration Act. Barnard says the act allows the public to go through a poll book and see who voted in the elections.
However, Summit County Attorney Dave Thomas says election records are sealed to ensure election returns are not tampered with.
Thomas says federal law governs federal elections and state and local laws govern state and local elections. He says the county is just following state law.
Joe Demma, Herbert's Chief of Staff, says he won't comment on an ongoing legal matter.
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Information from: Deseret Morning News
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
