The goal of the project is to find out whether America's governors properly archive the e-mail that comes into and goes out of their offices, and are able to provide copies of those e-mails when members of the public request them.

In 2007, several governors came under fire either because they denied open records requests for e-mail, or because it was learned that they were routinely destroying e-mail they received or sent. For more information, see Governors, e-mail and open records.

We hope to find a blogger in each of the 50 states who will send an open records request to the Office of the Governor in your state. In order to compare apples-to-apples, it would be good if the open records requests sent by different bloggers in different states were substantially similar. We have created a template and wording that you can use at How to ask for records from your governor.

The purpose of the project is to enable a state-by-state comparison of how governors in each of the 50 states treat the issue of e-mail retention. Do they archive these records? Do they archive these records in an easily searchable format that allows them to quickly and inexpensively respond to a request? Is it easy for a researcher--you--to find out who in the governor's office can help you with your request?

It's easy to participate. You only need to do three things:

(1) Send an open records request to the Office of the Governor in your state using this template.

(2) Blog about it.

(3) Send us information about the response you got, so we can post it in a table that allows a state-by-state comparison.

Ready to start? Click on these links for additional help and information:

FAQ about Sunshine Blogger Project

How to ask for records from your governor

Assistance for Sunshine Blogger Project

Your Governor and Open Records

Governors, e-mail and open records

Note from John Washburn