By Adam Pagnucco.
Like most of you, I get lots of political mail. Almost all of it encourages me to vote for or against someone or something. Recently, I received a mailer from a non-profit urging me to vote, period. That’s all fine and good, but wait until you see the pitch!
The mailer starts this way:
*****
Dear Adam,
Public records indicate that you are eligible to vote in the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Remember, who you vote for is private, but whether or not you voted is public record.
We’re sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to share who does and does not vote in an effort to promote election participation. While we have hidden the name and street number of your neighbors to protect their privacy, these are their true voting records.
*****
The mailer then lists me, my address, my voting history in the last four general elections and the same for two anonymous neighbors on my street. Both of these neighbors, whoever they are, are apparently regular voters.
And then the mailer says this: “We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.”
Here is a screenshot with my personal information redacted.
The mailer came from the Center for Voter Information (CVI) a 501(c)(4) non-profit. Its About statement says:
We all have reason to be discouraged by the character of political dialogue today.
Politics is often cluttered with loose accusations, half-truths and unfounded assertions.
Center for Voter Information is a non-profit, non-partisan partner organization to Voter Participation Center, both founded to provide resources and tools to help voting-eligible citizens register and vote in upcoming elections.
Its IRS Form 990 for 2022 and its 2022 financial statements indicate that it received $19 million in revenue that year but do not list its donors. In 2020, Propublica wrote an article about this group titled, “A Nonprofit With Ties to Democrats Is Sending Out Millions of Ballot Applications. Election Officials Wish It Would Stop.” Among other things, the article states:
Election officials say CVI has made a host of mistakes that have buried their offices in unnecessary paperwork and swamped them with calls from voters. Mailers from groups like CVI, which can be mistaken for official documents sent by state or local governments, are confusing voters at a time when states are racing to expand voting by mail during a pandemic, according to election officials from both parties. President Donald Trump has stoked fears of voter fraud by citing CVI’s activities.
Count this mailer as another mistake by CVI. I voted early on Friday and received this mailer on Tuesday – four days later. Why are they bothering to send me this mailer if they have access to my voting records and know – or should know – that I have already voted? What if someone receiving such a mailer were to mistakenly believe that it was from the Board of Elections and then attempt to vote again? Voting multiple times in an election is illegal.
Add to that the message of the mailer: “We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.” Reviewing these records? And then what? Mail my neighbors? Tell my friends? What exactly will they do?
I appreciate attempts to encourage people to vote. That appreciation does not extend to tactics of this kind.