Voter registration rolls and street lists are public information and will be available free of charge, beginning tomorrow, to all residents of Allegheny County, a judge ruled yesterday.

Common Pleas President Judge Joseph M. James issued an injunction yesterday stopping the county Elections Department from levying a $1,000 fee for computer disk copies of the files.

The ruling came after a lawsuit was filed Friday by the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of political activist and advocacy organizations that complained they were asked to pay $1,000 for copies of the disks.

Local political parties were not charged for the same information.

James ruled that each citizen is permitted one free disk each election. Any additional disk during that same election would cost $50.

Witold "Vic" Walczak, litigation director for the local ACLU, said he would contest the additional $50 fee as well. He said citizens should not be charged more than what it costs the county to produce the disks.

Among the groups for whom Walczak filed the lawsuit was political activist David Tessitor. Tessitor said he needed the voter registration files to prepare petitions in his attempt to have a referendum question placed on the ballot seeking to amend the Pittsburgh city charter.

Tessitor began about a year and a half ago fighting against the county policy to charge the fee for the information.

"[The court ruling] is huge because there are so many ways the database can be used," he said after yesterday's hearing.

The registration lists include voting histories, which is vital information for Tessitor's otherwise one-man operation when seeking volunteers to get petition signatures.

Tessitor was joined in the lawsuit by the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, the Gertrude Stein Political Club of Greater Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania Black Political Assembly.

The interfaith network already paid $1,000 for a compact disk containing voter information. The group wants to be reimbursed.

County Solicitor Michael Wojcik said only one group has paid the fee. His office will determine whether their money should be refunded, he said.

James said he would monitor the situation over the next six weeks and hold another hearing.

"I'd be curious to see how many people are going to request this," James said.

Celeste Taylor, vice chairwoman of the Pittsburgh NAACP Community Coordination Committee, said the information will be useful to her and a number of organizations with which she works.

"Absolutely, I'm coming down tomorrow to get mine," Taylor said.