Mike Miller is a Christian, married, and a father of three. He has lived in Pennsylvania his whole life and Lancaster County for 20 years.
Mike believes the greatest problem Americans face today is that we lack the knowledge of how to live as free people. This is largely the result of inadequate education in these matters. Americans are simply not taught enough about law, court procedures, the Constitution, to stand as free people. Consequently, when tyranny knocks on their door, they have no knowledge to call upon.
Mike’s passion is to revive the great principles of self-government that inspire and liberate people to live according to their conscience. He founded Faith Freedom Ministries as a civic ministry in which citizens can acquire this knowledge and learn to be productive in civic matters such as election integrity, education, property and liberty interests.
We are here because Lancaster County’s commissioners refuse to release public records that citizens may use to validate the County’s reported election results. To stand for his rights to this information, Mike’s only option was to seek relief in court. Mike’s current cases do not seek money damages and Mike is acting pro se at his own expense.
Unfortunately, although County of Lancaster employs a salaried solicitor, the County hired a private law firm at an additional cost to taxpayers.
This case adopts no political party’s narrative. It is for all freedom-loving Americans. Its politics are none other than this:
- A free people must have a constitutionally adequate public records law that protects favors public oversight over government secrets.
- A free people must have elections with results that are publicly verifiable.
Not at all. Mike simply calls for transparency. While the case necessarily regards Mike’s election, it is about something more fundamental. If government officials resist transparency, they have no basis to ask voters to accept reported results.
No. A ballot does not contain any identifiable information that an inspector could tie back to the voter. Privacy is preserved. Were this not so, the State could not use the voting system. Further, the legislature could not have declared in 25 P.S. § 3150.17 that voted ballots are public records.
County of Lancaster officials have taken action, via prior restraint, to prevent an informed, free, and general discussion of a public matter.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
The Supreme Court holds that “the evils to be prevented (by the First Amendment) were not the censorship of the press merely, but any action of the government by means of which it might prevent such free and general discussion of public matters as seems absolutely essential to prepare the people for an intelligent exercise of their rights as citizens.” Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233 (1936).
