America’s electoral system depends on citizens participating with full confidence that election results will accurately reflect their votes. Voter roll transparency is the foundation of trustworthy elections. The problem is obvious: If the lists of registered votes aren’t free for anyone to check, how can we know only eligible citizens are casting ballots?  That came into full view after the 2020 election exposed serious irregularities in our election system, leaving tens of millions of Americans wondering if their votes were canceled out by double voters, phony ballots, and non-citizens.

That’s why Restoration of America launched the Voter Reference Foundation (VRF) in 2021, a nonprofit that provides the transparency too few elected officials want by purchasing state voter rolls and publishing them on its website, VoteRef.com.

Now citizens are free to review anyone’s voter registration record and history in 37 states—and counting.

One such voter was a Texas woman named Mary, who checked her state government’s website to verify her family’s voting records. To her shock, she saw her mother listed as having voted despite living in a care home with dementia. The seriousness of her mother’s condition could only mean that someone else filled out her ballot. Mary immediately called her sister and told her, “Someone stole Mom’s vote!”

Mary’s mother was not the only victim of likely voter fraud in 2020.

Thousands of nursing home residents in Wisconsin had their votes harvested, with some even being in comas. This was especially troubling considering less than 21,000 votes separated Donald Trump and Joe Biden in the Badger State.

Cognitive impairments do not disqualify an individual from voting without a legal order designating them incompetent, but someone with diminished capacity can easily be taken advantage of without proper oversight from a trusted guardian.

Another common discrepancy is deceased voters or those at such an advanced age to make it unlikely they knowingly voted.

A 2024 Restoration News analysis found over 1,300 registered voters in Arizona that were over the age of 100. Incredibly, 34 of these alleged voters were born during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidency, including three born in 1902, which would have put them at 122 years old.

Why Election Transparency Matters 

Many states responded to the 2020 election discrepancies by passing long-needed reforms like requiring photo ID to vote, banning unmonitored ballot drop boxes, and removing inactive voters from the rolls.

Complacent officials, meanwhile, insisted these actions came from sore losers refusing to admit defeat. They pointed to infrequent conviction rates of election fraudsters as proof that elections were perfectly secure. But sloppy voter file maintenance alone keeps ineligible voters on the rolls, opening the gates for potential fraud—especially in states that do not require a government-issued photo ID at the polls.

“After the 2020 election, people asked questions that made officials uncomfortable, and instead of addressing those real concerns directly, they put up their walls—figuratively and literally—to try and stop any discussion,” VRF Executive Director Joseph Benson told Restoration News. “VRF provides open transparency in a way that has never existed before. We want to provide resources to people so they can understand the system and answer their questions.”

Bipartisan accusations of voter fraud was nothing new, but the 2020 election cycle opened a chasm in the public trust of our electoral process. A 2025 RMG Research poll found less than half of respondents were “very confident” that, in the last few elections, their votes were accurately counted and the proper winners were declared.

Only public inspection and oversight can provide the transparency needed to fill this chasm. In addition to more secure election laws, full transparency in who can vote and who actually votes goes a long way in rebuilding electoral trust.

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 explicitly encourages this by requiring states to produce a list of eligible voters upon request. Yet many states meet petitions for access to basic voter data with exorbitant fees, bureaucratic hurdles, or outright denials. This creates costly barriers to prevent citizens from finding out if someone stole their elderly or deceased parents’ votes as did Mary.

VRF makes the process easier for concerned citizens. For instance, rather than having to know a person’s date of birth and driver’s license number or voter ID number—as Mary would have required—an individual only needs a person’s name or address to look up their registration or voting history.

Curious if your neighbor who moved years ago or your deceased grandparents are still registered—or worse, inexplicably still vote? Now, you can type their name or address into your state’s search bar and find out.

VoteRef.com Opened the Books for Everyone

Launched in 2021, VRF was born from a mission to foster greater voter participation and confidence in the democratic process. Under the NVRA, VoteRef now provides 37 state voter registration rolls to the public, which it obtains from official government sources.

VRF does not gatekeep any of this crucial data, which costs tens of thousands of dollars to purchase. VoteRef provides all of it free of charge in an easily searchable database that categorizes voter rolls by state. Its format lets users query by name, or address, allowing citizens to inspect the rolls without the bureaucratic, economic, and technical barriers obfuscating the process.

Some elected officials claim they oppose releasing voter data to the public out of privacy concerns. The problem with this excuse is that this data is already public.

“A simple internet search can find nearly every record tied to your name, a lot more than what we publish on VoteRef,” Benson said. “The difference is VoteRef only publishes publicly available election related data and provides this with no fees or hoops to jump through.”

“States will sell this information to private data brokers who lock it behind accounts and paywalls that you can access for a fee,” he explained, “but it’s a problem if we provide free access to the citizens it belongs to? I don’t buy their argument.”

The lack of visibility concerning who is registered and who allegedly voted in past elections fuels suspicion and erodes confidence in the democratic system. By contrast, when citizens can inspect registration lists and voter history, it keeps everyone honest and pressures state officials to maintain accurate, up-to-date voter rolls.

The details vary by state, but a voter’s on VoteRef.com page reveals their name, address, age, registration date, county, congressional district, state legislative district, party affiliation (if applicable), and voting precinct—all of the data needed to distinguish between voters with the same or similar names.

Users can even view documents showing how and where VRF obtained this information from official sources by clicking on the resource button above the search bar. Crucially, users can also see which elections voters participated in and whether they voted in-person or absentee, provided the published state has this information on file.

Perhaps most important: Users can see if any other voters are registered at the address of the voter they’re viewing, with hyperlinks to their pages.

“The states were not making the effort to provide this public service, so we felt it necessary to do it ourselves.” Benson said. “Our staff are former election officials. In our time serving the public we have spoken to thousands of people, all just trying to find answers. We want to make it as easy as possible for anyone to ask those questions about our voter rolls and elections without all the gatekeeping and hostility.”

Winning the Battle for Election Transparency State by State

VRF’s impact is nothing short of extraordinary. In less than five years, it has published voter rolls from over 40 states, with plans to publish as many as possible. Though several states have been taken down due to the passage of anti-transparency laws, VRF is exhausting all legal efforts to bring them back to the public.

But even among states that comply with the NVRA, cooperation varies widely.

“Many states are happy to provide this information to the public and are proud to share the information about all the work they do and the systems they have created,” Joe said. “For the ones that aren’t, it’s worth asking ‘why?’

“Instead of just telling the public everything is fine, show them, put it all on display to remove any doubt.”

Although full national coverage would be ideal, there is a limit to how many states’ files VRF can legally access. Six states are not required to comply with the NVRA because they have same-day voter registration or no registration at all.

Among the six exempt states, North Dakota is the only one with no voter registration.

Idaho, Wisconsin, and Wyoming have voluntarily given VRF their voter file. That leaves Minnesota and New Hampshire as the only exempt states with a voter file that refuse to provide voter transparency.

VRF initially obtained and published the voter files from Minnesota but had to take it down after that state passed last-minute legislation to make publishing the information illegal.

Other states have stone walled despite lacking the cover of exemption.

VRF published the files from Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Virginia, but had to unpublish them for ongoing legal reasons. The nonprofit has also obtained the files for Arizona and Delaware, but for legal reasons cannot publish them—yet.

As for these and the remaining non-exempt states of California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Nebraska, they have had ample opportunity to follow the law and allow their rolls to be made public. All that remains is litigation, which will likely cost their taxpayers dearly and further erode public trust in the system.

“We have exhausted all polite options,” Benson said. “We have submitted every form, letter, and email, paid every fee—even lobbied on our behalf, yet we still face challenges and non-compliance.”

New Mexico similarly refused to turn over its file, forcing VRF to take the matter to court. In a landmark ruling, the judge ruled in favor of VRF, forcing the state to comply with the NVRA and awarding $1 million in legal fees—taxpayer dollars that would have remained in state coffers had they simply followed the law.

The NVRA is clear: States cannot arbitrarily refuse to release their voter rolls.

The Road Ahead to Secure America’s Elections

Questions surrounding the 2020 election highlighted the urgent need for public oversight. Clean, honest elections are crucial for maintaining trust among Americans that elected officials represent the will of the voters.

VRF is at the forefront of the post-2020 citizen-driven election integrity movement aimed at restoring that trust. Rather than hoard voter files and slowly drip juicy tidbits to the public, VoteRef.com provides free access to voter rolls. This empowers American citizens to actively participate in safeguarding their republic and pressure officials to do the same.

As VRF continues to expand, it faces significant challenges from states resistant to releasing voter data. However, the organization remains committed to upholding the principles of the NVRA and providing public access to every state’s voter rolls where possible. By fostering greater awareness and engagement, it is helping to restore faith in the election process. With continued public support and vigilance, Americans can enjoy a more transparent and accountable future.