But the association’s legal fight with the auditor’s office may be one instance in which fans of open government should root for the builders.

The association claims the auditor withheld e-mail records that may show how the auditor’s office handled voter registrations submitted by employees of a left-leaning advocacy group called ACORN.

Last month, King County prosecutors filed felony charges against seven people who allegedly committed the biggest voter-registration fraud in state history. The defendants were employees and supervisors of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.

Although the association’s interest in the Pierce County records stems at least in part from rancor left by the bitter recount controversy in the 2004 governor’s race, the purpose of its public records request is legitimate. How did Pierce County election officials handle indications of registration fraud?

(The Pierce County prosecutor is investigating 400 suspect voter registrations and may finish its probem within a month.)

The county won a round last month when Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Hirsch dismissed the BIAW’s lawsuit, which claimed that the auditor’s office had violated the state’s Public Records Act by deleting e-mails.

The county argued the e-mails in question were never public records. Hirsch has agreed to reconsider the ruling.

What concerns us is the possibility that the judge may have blown a gaping hole in the public records law.

The BIAW, represented by Greg Overstreet, formerly an open-government expert for state Attorney General Rob McKenna, contends Hirsch did just that – because she apparently ruled that the e-mails were not public records because they had not been “retained.”

By that standard, any public document or e-mail would cease to be a public record the moment it was destroyed or deleted. If that is indeed the import of Hirsch’s ruling, it would be disaster for open government.

Not every e-mail that passes through a government computer is a legitimate public record that must be saved. Please, delete the spam and birthday greetings. But every e-mail pertaining to public business is a public record and must be kept.

Another issue raised in this case concerns how long the auditor is required to retain public records. The BIAW contends the auditor’s schedule for retention conflicts with the one decreed by the state archivist, the arbiter of such questions. That is also something the judge should consider closely.

It’s fine if the county convinces a judge that the BIAW’s records request and other claims are frivolous or without merit. But the judge should take pains to see that she construes the Public Record Act in the manner it requires – liberally in favor of disclosure.