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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 7, 1993                   TAG: 9304070318
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

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PROTECTION SOUGHT FOR VOTERS

Gov. Douglas Wilder said Tuesday that the state Board of Elections may be able to remove voters' Social Security numbers from public records without legislative action.

The board voted Monday to ask the General Assembly to change Virginia's election laws to prohibit public disclosure of the numbers.

A federal appeals court ruled last month that the state's practice of recording voters' Social Security numbers, then making those numbers a matter of public record, is unconstitutional.

"After appraising the situation, we decided to go for a legislative remedy rather than appeal," said Michael Brown, Elections Board secretary.

But Wilder told reporters he doesn't think legislative action is needed because the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals already has struck down the board's practice.

"I am advised by the attorney general's office that legislation might not be needed," Wilder said.

Brown said the three-member board also consulted with the attorney general's office before voting unanimously to ask Wilder to propose the legislation when the General Assembly meets today for its one-day veto session.

The Virginia Constitution requires a person to furnish his or her Social Security number when registering to vote. The list of registered voters, including Social Security numbers, is open to public inspection.

"The harm that can be inflicted from the disclosure of a Social Security number to an unscrupulous individual is alarming and potentially financially ruinous," the appeals court said in a March 22 ruling.

The court said if the Social Security numbers were not made public, there would be no constitutional violation.

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