Request for Documents From Democratic National Party...

Although they aren't officially a public, governmental agency, I thought I would make a document request under the state open records act, and see what response I got. There is precedent for a private, non-profit organization being compelled to release information of this nature, so I would encourage anyone and everyone interested in this topic to send a similar request to the DNC:

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Justin W. Riggs
(my personal information)

December 31, 2008

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
Alice Travis Germond
Democratic National Committee
430 South Capitol Street SE
Washington, D.C. 20003
Phone: 202-863-8000
germonda@dnc.org


RECORDS REQUEST

Dear Records Request Officer:

Pursuant to the state open records act, I request access to and copies of any and all documents used to determine the eligibility of Barack Obama to serve as President of the United States under the provisions of the Constitution of the United States of America and the Democratic Party's 2008 Delegate Selection Plan in the 2008 primaries and general election. While the DNC Services Corporation is a private, non-profit organization, several courts have held that such organizations fall under the jurisdiction of their respective state open records acts, particularly when they are performing a government function or are functionally a government agency (see Gannon and Nichols v. The Board of Regents of the State of Iowa and Kimberly Kay Allen v. John Day for examples of these types of rulings). I therefore request that this request be granted in all due haste.

Because this request is for public, non-commercial use, I request that any fee be waived. If a fee is required, please contact me at this email address (juriggs@yahoo.com) with the amount, at which time I will decide to pursue or cancel my request.

If my request is denied in whole or part, I ask that you justify all deletions by reference to specific exemptions of the act. I would also remind you that the act stipulates that you respond to this request in a timely fashion. I request that the document be mailed either electronically (a readable scan of the documents is sufficient) or through the postal service, no later than noon, January 7th. If this is not possible, please contact me at this email address (juriggs@yahoo.com) with a time and a date by which I can expect to receive the documents.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Citizen,
Justin W. Riggs