Postcards, fliers and other mailings containing that message — or some variation of it — have hit mailboxes across Southern California as Election Dayapproaches. The intent, according to the left-leaning groups behind some of the mailings, is to encourage people to participate in the election, particularly those considered to be “inconsistent” voters.
Some mailers included a reminder that Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Others were a bit more personal — leaving voters wondering just how private their voter registration information is.
One letter, called a “voting report card” and sent to California voters from the Washington, D.C. -based Center for Voter Information, includes the recipient’s voting record in the 2022, 2020, 2018 and 2016 elections.
Underneath are two neighbors’ voting records, with their names and part of their addresses blacked out.
“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,” the letter says. “While we have hidden the name and street number of your neighbors to protect their privacy, these are their true voting records.
“We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.”
While the Center for Voter Information bills itself as a nonpartisan group aiming to help people register to vote and participate in elections, it has spent money to support Democratic candidates in previous elections, including President Joe Biden in 2020. (The FEC does not list any expenditure data for the group for this election cycle.)
This election cycle, it sent 7.1 million pieces of “this type of turnout mail” to 1.9 million voters, including 630,000 voters in Orange County, Tom Lopach, president and CEO of the Center for Voter Information, said in an emailed statement. The group targeted voters who are people of color, unmarried women and young people as well as “Americans who share the values of a representative government,” said Lopach.
“We have one main mission, and that’s to encourage people to vote,” Lopach said. “Whether someone voted in an election is public record. As a civic-engagement group, we use public records to help voters understand their voting records.”
What Voter Information is Public
So just what information is publicly available about voters?Access to voter registration lists, and the information that comes with those, vary state-by-state.
In California, voter registration information, kept by the secretary of state’s office, can be accessed by candidates for federal, state or local office; committees related to initiative or referendum measures; or people who wish to use the information for election, governmental, journalistic, political or scholarly purposes, according to the secretary of state.
A voter registration data file contains a voter’s name, date of birth, residential and mailing address, contact information and political party preference. Voter participation history includes the type of election a voter participated in, the date of the election and voting method, such as by mail or at a polling place.
Voter registration information does not include the person’s ballot selections, such as who they voted for.
Driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers and signatures are also confidential and not disclosed.
There is an application process for those wanting to obtain voter registration information, submitted through either the secretary of state or a county.
The application, according to a copy from the Orange County Registrar of Voters, requires the applicant to detail how they would use the information and how they plan to keep it secure.
Use of the voter file information, however, is “limited only to enumerated purposes and use of the voter file to harass any voter or voter’s household, as specified in California Elections Code … is illegal,” Jordan Reilly, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said Thursday.
“We have received two reports of these types of messages and are conducting a further review,” Reilly said. “California’s voter file is not public and is considered confidential under state law. Voter file information may only be used for specific purposes upon application to the Secretary of State or a county election official.”
Increase Turnout or Intimidate?
Mailers, like the ones hitting Southern California voters’ mailboxes in recent days from two left-leaning groups, are not new. They’re “get out the vote” efforts by campaigns or groups that are typically championing a cause, said Dan Schnur, a former campaign consultant who teaches about political messaging at UC Berkeley and USC.That includes a postcard sent to voters around the country by the Progressive Turnout Project, a voter contact group that works to mobilize Democrats.
Voters in Southern California were sent postcards that say, “America votes Tuesday, Nov. 5” with the message: “Thank you for being a voter! Who you vote for is private, but whether you vote is public record. Please vote in the Tues., Nov. 5 election!”
That’s one of three choices volunteers who handwrite the postcards’ messages can choose from. It’s called the “social pressure” message, which the Progressive Turnout Project says is its most effective choice. Another message encourages voters to make a plan to vote in the election, and a third option encourages the recipient to remind friends and family to vote.
The postcard includes a URL that directs to a website paid for by the Democratic National Committee that helps people register to vote and check on the status of their ballot, among other assistance. There’s also information about states’ voter hotline numbers.
The group has sent more than 40 million postcards this election cycle, including to voters in California congressional districts with close races: CA-27, CA-40, CA-41, CA-45, CA-47 and CA-49.
Sign up for Down Ballot, our Southern California politics email newsletter. Subscribe here.It is unclear if any right-leaning or Republican-affiliated groups are sending similar mailers to voters in Southern California.
While the most effective get-out-the-vote strategy is person-to-person, said Schnur, these types of mailers can also play on a person’s sense of belonging.
“We’re a tribal species, and we like to be reminded that we are part of a group,” Schnur said. “We don’t want to feel left out, and this type of mailing capitalizes on that worry.”
The mailers can both increase turnout but also have an intimidating effect on voters as well, said Schnur.
When asked about the letter’s vow to review whether the recipient participated in this election, Lopach, with the Center for Voter Information, said the group will “sometimes check back in with voters to better inform our future mailing programs” after an election.
“Many mail recipients appreciate the follow-on conversation, and we have learned that repeat communication often leads to citizens becoming habitual voters,” Lopach said.
Similar mailers were also sent to voters in Maryland and Virginia by the Center for Voter Information, according to news reports.
While certain voter registration information can be available to those who successfully apply for it, the information cannot be used to harass a voter or their household or to advertise, solicit, sell or market products or services to a voter or their household, according to information provided by Bob Page, Orange County’s registrar.
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