Alaskans incensed by letters publishing their voting records

ANCHORAGE - A series of letters from a shadowy group is telling Alaskans’ friends and neighbors whether they voted in previous elections -- and threatening to release their voting records in the Nov. 4 general elections. In letters photographed by Channel 2 viewers who received them, the Alaska State Voter Program lists 10 friends and neighbors, along with their home addresses and whether -- but not how -- they voted in the 2008, 2010 and 2012 elections. At least one person reported subsequently receiving an email from the group containing the text of the mailed letter. An introduction in the letters rhetorically asks why people don’t vote, then poses the group’s solution to the issue. The language is mirrored on the group's website, which allows people to generate a list similar to those in the letters by entering their name and mailing address or their Facebook account.

“This year, we’re taking a new approach,” ASVP members wrote. “We’re sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicize who does and does not vote.”

source

Read the article to see why these letters are upsetting Alaskans.

This article has comments with more details than the article. Read the comments of this article.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

"“This year, we’re taking a new approach,” ASVP members wrote. “We’re sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicize who does and does not vote.”"

So they want people to vote even if they don't want to. Is this to exercise freedom and the right to choose?

Isn't that just another freedom that belongs to an individual? The right NOT to vote?

Peace

a reply to: AlaskanDad

If I lived in Alaska, I probably wouldn't want to trudge out into the cold and snow to vote.

Then again, maybe after Alaskans received all the bad press about their Governor Sarah Palin, how incompetent she was, and how they could have possibly voted her into office, maybe they're ashamed to go out to the polls!

According to Fenumiai, the letters are based on a state voter list which tracks whether voters participated in elections over the last 10 years. Under state law, the document is publicly available for $20 in print or $21 electronically.

So...the list is publicly available. Right?
Anyone who cares can find out if their neighbor voted. Right?

Or maybe they just don't care eh?

Because in the end he who votes decides nothing he who counts the votes decides everything.

You should ask Ron Paul about that above ljne.. he learned about it really well this past election.

Edit

So what it is the voter who chooses to vote they can't be forced to.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Kind of takes away that whole "secret ballot", "voter privacy" thing.

a reply to: beezzer
Who you vote for is a secret.
Whether or not you cast a ballot is not.

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Personally, I think it should be recognised as a legitimate position to take to refuse to choose the better of two lumps of faeces, when selecting political representatives. This release of data, is utterly unacceptable, and represents some of the most appalling misuse of power on the part of those responsible, that I can imagine.

It has to be said though, that the origin of these emails interests me greatly. Allegedly minors, who were not eligble to vote at the time, were listed. This suggests to me, that it is possible that the records set they used was not entirely drawn from voter records, but also from a sort of collage of data, including that list, but not limited to it. That in turn suggests that whoever was behind this, may not actually be officially affiliated with any of the main parties, but may be some sort of hacker, or collective thereof, and that the entity or entities responsible have a motivation beyond the causation of chaos, the earning of money through exploiting security holes in machines and taking over a persons computer for their own nefarious reasons.

This smells like a politically motivated move, but the nature of the list being used, and the fact that no one is sure who this person or group is, leads me to believe that they are doing this for their own reasons. I would have thought that if anyone ever finds out who they are, that the investigators or researchers who uncover the identity of this person or group will also find a manifesto. What will be inside it, which side they might fall on, if any at all, I have no idea.

They can't tell how a person voted because it's anonymous. Who ever is threatening and can follow through must have access to the voter check in logs. That's the only identifiable information.

Q2. I would like to purchase information about voters. Where can I find out what information is available?

A2. A chart describing the types of information which is available, the frequency with which it can be provided and the fees charged for information is available from the web site of the Secretary of State under Elections Division Fee Schedule. Please contact your local county election official for information about county-specific information requests.



Q3. Where can I find out which voters have received a mail ballot?

A3. Local county election officials possess the status of mail ballot processing. One of the standard reports or data exports you may request is known as the “E-032 Absentee List (Public)” which now captures mail ballot information. This standardized report can be created either as a print-ready report or as a data export.



Q4. Where can I find out which electors have voted at a Voter Service and Polling Center location?

A4. Local county election officials are the source of information on the status of participation at Voter Service and Polling Center locations. One of the standard reports or data exports you may request is known as the “EV-002 Early Voters List (Public)” which now captures In-Person voting information. This standardized report can be created either as a print-ready report or as a data export.

Q5. How can I track voting on Election Day?

A5. Voting participation on Election Day is usually monitored through the use of poll watchers at voting sites, or by receiving updates from a local county election office. Please contact your local county official for guidance.


www.sos.state.co.us...

You can search Registered voter for _______ state and get the information.

a reply to: StoutBroux

No. It is not secret. The list is available to anyone. It is a matter of public record.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

originally posted by: StoutBroux
They can't tell how a person voted because it's anonymous. Who ever is threatening and can follow through must have access to the voter check in logs. That's the only identifiable information. So it is secret and somebody should be doing something about this.

Maybe they're releasing the registered party affiliation?

Hmmm.

That could scare some people for sure !!!!

a reply to: xuenchen
Want the list for Oregon?
sos.oregon.gov...

a reply to: Phage
Yeah, I saw that Phage. I swear sometime when I post and theirs only a few replies, by the time I get my post up there are another 20 posts in that time. Oh well, learn something new every day. Cheers

I don't care if someone knows if I voted or not. It does border on creepy but the list is available for any state so representatives can flood our mailboxes with political junk. So not really a big deal but the letter does appear a little blackmailish or threatening. I want to know who's doing it.

I'm not sure who is trying to scare who here - AFAIK every state publicly releases the names and addresses of all registered voters and the elections they voted in.

Here is Ohio's: Voter Files Download Page

Pennsylvania's: Voting and Elections

Most State URL's for voter lists seem to start with "sos.state.stateabbreviation.us"

Well, here are the guilty parties.

This one comes from America Votes, what appears to be a liberal PAC. The letter with the neighbors' names and voting records apparently comes from The Opportunity Alliance PAC, conservative group. At their website - Alaska Votes - you can plug in your address and see how often your neighbors vote. KTUU cites the letter:

“This year, we’re taking a new approach,” ASVP members wrote. “We’re sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicize who does and does not vote.”
It's not clear to me how long the organization has existed and thus whether the 'this year' is misleading or not.

The KTUU piece talks about people's outrage over their voting record being circulated like this. This is public information, though it's tricky for members of the public to get it. I know parties and candidates pay for lists of people's voting records. I'm trying to think about reasons why people's voting record (whether they voted, not how they voted) should be kept secret or made public like this. Would more people vote if this information was readily available? I'm guessing they would.

But then this led to the backers of Opportunity Alliance PAC - mainly Paul Singer. Now, he's an interesting person and I'll focus on that in another post soon.
whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com... FoJTgpu+(What+Do+I+Know%3F)

a reply to: jude11

I would like to know how they even got access to records on whether or not people voted.
Its none of their business.

a reply to: Xcathdra

I suppose you haven't read the other replies to the thread...whoever casts a ballot is public information.

a reply to: StoutBroux

Your first quoted sentence says a liberal pac and your second sentence says a conservative pac. Which are you claiming?

I believe the article leads us to believe it is a conservative group doing the mailing. Am I mistaken?

The article also makes it clear that this tactic has been used by both left and right millions of times. Yet another instance of the two major parties being identical. In intent and practice.

Surprise surprise.