By Adam Pagnucco.
Yesterday, our post about a creepy get out the vote mailer from a nonprofit spread like wildfire and, at this writing, has soared to number one in our page view list for the month. (That’s not easy to do in a month right before an election.) I emailed the state and county boards of elections and asked them two questions: “First, has your organization heard from voters about these mailers? And second, have these mailers caused any challenges for your organization in administering the current election?”
Here is the response from the State Board of Elections:
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Good Evening,
Thank you for contacting the State Board of Elections. The State Board of Elections and Office of the Attorney General are looking into the matter. More information may be forthcoming in the next day or so.
Kind Regards,
SBE Help Desk
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And here is the response from David Naimon, who is President of the Montgomery County Board of Elections:
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Mr. Pagnucco: Thank you for this morning’s article about this. I’m a subscriber to Montgomery Perspective and appreciate your attention to local issues. Even before your article, our staff and I personally heard from voters about these mailers, and then my family members and I also received it as well. As I told the voters, I agree that it’s creepy and intimidating, and think it’s a terrible strategy for encouraging people to vote. I agree with one voter who said “anything that could sow fear, concern, or distrust of the election process is a potential problem.”
I heard concern that some voters might be fooled into thinking that it came from the Board of Elections, but I haven’t personally heard from anyone who actually was confused. Our voters are pretty sophisticated. The mailer clearly had a return address that was the private organization’s address in Richmond, VA, and was signed by a representative of the organization. We don’t generally respond to election mailers, and I don’t think there’s anything our Board can or should do about it, other than to reassure voters who ask that it’s not from us. We have been contacted by some of our voters and we are telling those who ask that the mailing is not associated with the Montgomery County Board of Elections. Other than the time spent answering voters’ questions or concerns, the mailing is not part of the election process and therefore has had no impact on our election operations.
We urge voters not to wait until the last minute to vote at Early Voting or Election Day or to submit their mail-in ballot and possibly encounter long waits or missed deadlines that may require us to reject their ballots. Don’t delay – vote today!
If possible, I’d appreciate your using my statement in full.
Thanks,
David Naimon, President
Montgomery County Board of Elections
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Now look, folks. The mailer is correct that your history of voting in elections is public record. You can buy it from either the state or county boards of elections. Purchasers can’t see for whom you voted, but they can see some of your voter registration information including your history of voting in primary, general and municipal elections. Accordingly, I have not alleged that the nonprofit that sent the mailer did anything illegal.
But the tactics of the mailer have annoyed readers. If the mailer had simply reminded recipients of the upcoming election and provided information on how to register and vote, I don’t know if anyone would have a problem with that. But claims of possessing the voting history of the recipient and their neighbors as well as the statement of “We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting” was regarded by many as invasive, offensive, scary, threatening and the work of “Big Brother.” If you are a Nextdoor subscriber, this thread is typical of the feedback I have received.
Folks should be encouraged to vote. But let’s pick a better way to do it than this.