A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Martin County Election Department regarding pre-election voting machine test reports on October 30, 2024. The request was made by us at IBX News, a media organization dedicated to delivering comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs.
We are seeking access to these records under the North Carolina Public Records Law, G.S. §132-1., and have requested that they be provided in an electronic format for ease of use and dissemination. Specifically, we are asking for the pre-election test reports for the county’s election voting machines in PDF format.
The information we are seeking includes the date of the test, the manufacturer of the machine, the model number of the machine, and whether each machine passed or failed its pre-election test.
As a media organization committed to transparency and holding public institutions accountable, we believe that access to these records is crucial for fulfilling our professional responsibilities. We also argue that we should be eligible for a fee waiver as a media professional due to our role in disseminating this information to the public.
We look forward to receiving a response from the Martin County Election Department and will continue to keep our readers informed about this and other matters related to local government transparency.
