Is this the scariest “Get Out the Vote Mailer” ever?

By Adam Pagnucco.

Like most of you, I get a lot of political mail. Almost all of it encourages me to vote for or against someone or something. I recently received a mailer from a nonprofit encouraging me to vote, period. That's all well and good, but wait until you see the pitch!

The mailer starts like this:

*****

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 confidential, but whether you voted or not is public knowledge.

We are sending this mailing to you and your neighbors to let you know who is voting and who is not, to encourage voter turnout. Although we have hidden your neighbors' name and street number to protect their privacy, these are their true election results.

*****

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. These two neighbors, whoever they are, are apparently regular voters.

And then the mailer says, “We will review these records after the election to determine whether or not you voted with your neighbors.”

Here is a screenshot with my personal information redacted.

The mailer came from the Center for Voter Information (CVI), a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. The About statement says:

We all have reason to be discouraged by the nature of political dialogue today.

Politics is often full of loose accusations, half-truths and unsubstantiated claims.

Center for Voter Information is a nonprofit, nonpartisan partner organization of the Voter Participation Center, both founded to provide resources and tools to help eligible voters register and vote in upcoming elections.

The company's 2022 IRS Form 990 and 2022 financial statements show it had $19 million in revenue that year, but its donors are not listed. In 2020, Propublica wrote an article about this group titled “A nonprofit with ties to Democrats sends out millions of ballot applications. Election officials wish it would stop.” The article states, in part:

Election officials say CVI made a series of errors that resulted in its offices being flooded with unnecessary paperwork and inundated with calls from voters. Mailers from groups like CVI, which can be confused with official documents sent by state or local governments, are confusing voters at a time when states are struggling to expand voting by mail during a pandemic, election officials from both parties say. President Donald Trump has stoked fears of voter fraud by citing CVI's activities.

Count this mailer as another failure from CVI. I voted early on Friday and received this mailer on Tuesday – four days later. Why are they bothering to send me this mailer when they have access to my voting records and know – or should know – that I have already voted? What if someone who receives such an email mistakenly believes it is from the Board of Elections and then tries to vote again? Voting multiple times in an election is illegal.

Add to that the mailer's message: “We will review these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.” Are you reviewing these records? And then what? Write to my neighbors? Tell my friends? What exactly will they do?

I appreciate attempts to encourage people to vote. This appreciation does not extend to tactics of this kind.