Voter Registration Form Is Not A Motor Vehicle Record Under The Driver's Privacy Protection Act
LAKE v. NEAL (November 6, 2009)
Joseph Lake applied for a drivers license with the Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”). The National Voter Registration Act permits a citizen to register to vote at the same time he or she applies for a driver’s license -- so Lake filled out a voter registration form. After he allegedly learned that someone acquired his personal information from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, Lake filed suit. He alleges that the Board violated the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (“DPPA”) when it disclosed his personal information. The district court granted a motion to dismiss. Lake appeals.
In their opinion, Chief Judge Easterbrook and Judges Bauer and Evans affirmed. The DPPA does provide a private cause of action against one who discloses information "from a motor vehicle record." The statute defines "motor vehicle record" as any record that pertains to any one of several documents issued by the DMV. The Court concluded that the voter registration form does not pertain, in the common sense of that word, to any document issued by the DMV. Although it can be filled out as part of the same process, it is not a part of and has nothing to do with any DMV documents. Since it is not a “motor vehicle record,” there is no cause of action for the wrongful disclosure of information contained therein.
