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News & ArtsFriday, September 21, 2012
2012 Secretary of State Erroneously Notifies Thousands of Registered Voters that They Are Not
Posted by Goldy on Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 5:35 PM
- Postcard sent by Secretary of State to presumed unregistered voters in King County. Bilingual postcards were mailed in counties with large Spanish speaking populations.
The Washington Secretary of State's office mailed out 1.1 million postcards to eligible voters this week notifying them that they "don't appear to be registered" to vote, generating confusion and suspicion from thousands of recipients who are in fact registered.
State co-director of elections Shane Hamlin confirms that his office has received about 1,100 phone calls over the past week from concerned registered voters who erroneously received the postcard, a number that suggests that thousands more registered voters must also have received the card. But Hamlin defends the mailing as an effort to promote voter registration education: "It's intended to be an outreach," explains Hamlin, "not an attempt to scare people way."
Hamlin says that once they explain to callers that they are in fact registered, their confusion and suspicion is allayed. Meanwhile, hundreds of unregistered recipients have called to request voter registration forms, while others have been directed to the state voter registration website. Which was, of course, the sole purpose of sending out these postcards in the first place.
But the office's good intentions don't satisfy Kathleen Drew, the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State. "It is clear that this is something that should not be happening 46 days before an election day," Drew wrote in a statement released today. "It is confusing to voters and I urge the Secretary of State's office to do whatever they can do to correct this error without any further delay."
The error occurred when the Secretary of State's office cross-referenced the drivers license database with the voter registration database, matching on first name, last name, and birth date. Subject to some further eligibility screenings, postcards were mailed to people found in the former but not in the latter.
An erroneous birth date (mostly due to "fat-fingered" data entry, says Hamlin) or a variation in your name could trigger a mismatch. Hamlin says he hopes that more sophisticated matching algorithms will eliminate most of these errors in the future. He also says that the office will consider modifying the wording on future postcards to clarify that it does not necessarily mean that you are not registered.
But in the meanwhile, Hamlin is counting on further outreach—mostly through media reports like this—to ease any concerns generated by this well-intentioned outreach.
1
my drivers license and voter registration information is 100% accurate and I still got one of those postcards ... and it was addressed to "Residents" at my apartment address
2
I'm no longer registered to vote since I moved and it bothers me. Ultimately what bothers me more is that if I register to vote again anybody with my name and birthday can find my new home address in publicly accessible records. There are people that I would rather not know where I live now. Guess I won't be voting in the upcoming election.
3
Anything that perturbs the status quo this close to the election is suppressive. So what if "hundreds" of unregistered people call in to register? The strong likelihood is that out of that 1.1 million people, many thousands will get the impression that they would have problems at the polls and be discouraged from voting.
Doesn't pass the smell test, no matter how fat the fingers of the Secretary of State's minions.
Doesn't pass the smell test, no matter how fat the fingers of the Secretary of State's minions.
4
The Republicans cannot demand voter id in Washington, but that doesn't mean they cannot still "purge" the voter rolls of people unlikely to vote for them.
7
I got a postcard, and I'm actually, really and truly, not registered to vote.
It's a tuition issue. I'm afraid if I register to vote now, the state will say, "Oops, that year of college you paid resident tuition for in 2009-10 is now going to be billed to you at the out-of-state rate. Because if you're just registering to vote now, you obviously weren't a resident two years ago." Even though I've lived here in Wa. in 2005, and have had my Wa. driver's license since 2007.
It's a tuition issue. I'm afraid if I register to vote now, the state will say, "Oops, that year of college you paid resident tuition for in 2009-10 is now going to be billed to you at the out-of-state rate. Because if you're just registering to vote now, you obviously weren't a resident two years ago." Even though I've lived here in Wa. in 2005, and have had my Wa. driver's license since 2007.
8
Anyway, why are people getting upset? If I were registered to vote and got one of those postcards, I'd double check that I was registered. If I didn't feel like doing that, I probably wouldn't have bothered to vote anyway. Besides, wouldn't I just get my ballot in the mail anyway?
Now, if they were sending out postcards to unregistered voters saying they were registered, that could be a problem. An unregistered voter might shrug and say, "Guess I must have registered and forgot." Then they'd wait for their ballot in the mail and not get it, and by the time they figured out they weren't actually registered, the deadline to do so would have passed.
Now, if they were sending out postcards to unregistered voters saying they were registered, that could be a problem. An unregistered voter might shrug and say, "Guess I must have registered and forgot." Then they'd wait for their ballot in the mail and not get it, and by the time they figured out they weren't actually registered, the deadline to do so would have passed.
9
@7, apparently your college education didn't help prepare you to think logically. Perhaps it's best if you don't vote.
10
I live in Seattle. I bought a house in Seattle. I'm on the KC register because of that.
I'm a legal alien.
I am not a US citizen.
I can't vote. Legally.
But the ceaseless dimwits seem to think "property owner = voter". Hmmm... What century is this?
I'm a legal alien.
I am not a US citizen.
I can't vote. Legally.
But the ceaseless dimwits seem to think "property owner = voter". Hmmm... What century is this?
11
@8 interesting. I like the way you think.
Honestly, I think this is an honest bug with unfortunate timing. Nothing insidious to see here.
Also, talk about hyperbole.
"The Washington Secretary of State's office mailed out 1.1 million postcards ... State co-director of elections Shane Hamlin confirms that his office has received about 1,100 phone calls over the past week from concerned registered voters who erroneously received the postcard, a number that suggests that thousands more registered voters must also have received the card."
1100 * 1000 = 1.1million
I see what you did there. That's a totes Fox News move, hacky.
@9 Ha!
Honestly, I think this is an honest bug with unfortunate timing. Nothing insidious to see here.
Also, talk about hyperbole.
"The Washington Secretary of State's office mailed out 1.1 million postcards ... State co-director of elections Shane Hamlin confirms that his office has received about 1,100 phone calls over the past week from concerned registered voters who erroneously received the postcard, a number that suggests that thousands more registered voters must also have received the card."
1100 * 1000 = 1.1million
I see what you did there. That's a totes Fox News move, hacky.
@9 Ha!
13
I received a postcard as well. I and my roommates are registered at this this address, but the former residents likely forgot to update their registration. In most states, I concede that it might make the most feebly willed person not drive to the polls and vote. That said, in Washington if the person is registered at the address and takes no action they will receive a ballot with their name and address on it. All in all I think this is a good and well intentioned thing and will probably result in more voters, not less.
14
My husband and I received one of the postcards addressed to "resident". Using the new MyVote website to check, his registration was in question. A phone call corrected that. However, I've been trying to locate information in regard to this besides online (someone in charge does realize, right?, that not everyone has access to computers or wi-fi, like the elderly, the poor, etc., the most likely people, right?, to commit voter fraud) and haven't seen anything on TV news or online Seattle Times yet. Doesn't mean it hasn't been available; perhaps I was a second or two late for the TV news or my Google search was faulty. Perhaps the Secretary of State should send a new 1.1 million mailings saying "oops, bad timing" and then phone calls to those 1.1 million and if that doesn't reach everyone, house-to-house visits. Your goof, you fix.
15
What is "well intentioned" about lying to people, wasting their time, and scaring them into taking unnecessary actions?
16
This is fully indicative of a corrupt state gov't, which we've had for quite some time.
The other day some low-information voter-type turned to me and said,
"Did you know when Romney was governor of Mass. he offshored state jobs?"
I replied, "Yup, just like Gary Locke did when he was the Wa. governor."
When dealing with state governments, regardless of which state, one should always have an attorney present or doing the contacting --- they are simply that normally and typically corrupt.
Gregoire's (the supposedly democratic gov.) first two actions: tax breaks for Boeing and Micro$oft and that law making it a crime not to be 100% accurate on one's resume or CV.
Need one elaborate?
The other day some low-information voter-type turned to me and said,
"Did you know when Romney was governor of Mass. he offshored state jobs?"
I replied, "Yup, just like Gary Locke did when he was the Wa. governor."
When dealing with state governments, regardless of which state, one should always have an attorney present or doing the contacting --- they are simply that normally and typically corrupt.
Gregoire's (the supposedly democratic gov.) first two actions: tax breaks for Boeing and Micro$oft and that law making it a crime not to be 100% accurate on one's resume or CV.
Need one elaborate?
18
@15, my thought exactly. I have a feeling the definition of "well intentioned" seems to at issue.
19
Given that this is a vote by mail state, what's the problem? Everyone registered will still get their ballot. This also doesn't seem like it would do much of anything to help Rob McKenna, so I can't imagine the state GOP being enthused, either.
20
@9 - Please explain to me exactly where my logic failed. Seriously, if I'm missing something here, I want to know.
A registered voter who gets this postcard and doesn't take the time to double check his or her registration status is probably not the kind of person who would take the time to fill out and mail a ballot.
A registered voter who gets this postcard and does nothing will get his or her ballot in the mail anyway. Which I think would be a pretty clear signal that the person is registered to vote after all.
A registered voter who gets this postcard and doesn't take the time to double check his or her registration status is probably not the kind of person who would take the time to fill out and mail a ballot.
A registered voter who gets this postcard and does nothing will get his or her ballot in the mail anyway. Which I think would be a pretty clear signal that the person is registered to vote after all.
21
So they use the Driver's License database to send these post-cards which:
A) is inaccurate when cross-referenced with voter database and sends thousands of postcards to registered voters, mostly seniors. disenfranchisement ensues.
B) includes non-citizens in Washington State since WA allows non-citizens to get licenses. (and Sam Reed knows this because he just whined about that being an issue for using the SAVE database in WA). non-citizen voter fraud may now be an issue when it wasn't before.
C) obviously, only registered drivers are a part of, thereby limiting outreach to urban, low-income populations. resulting voter registrations favor the GOP.
AND they do it 1.5 months before a big election.
I still can't figure out if they're just stupid and well-meaning or if they're intent really was malicious like the GOPers in Pennsylvania, Florida, etc.
How about this for really going down the conspiracy wormhole.... they sent these out to people with Driver's Licenses, knowing non-citizens would receive them, only to further Sam Reed's new pet project... accessing the SAVE Database and requiring citizenship for Driver's Licenses.
A) is inaccurate when cross-referenced with voter database and sends thousands of postcards to registered voters, mostly seniors. disenfranchisement ensues.
B) includes non-citizens in Washington State since WA allows non-citizens to get licenses. (and Sam Reed knows this because he just whined about that being an issue for using the SAVE database in WA). non-citizen voter fraud may now be an issue when it wasn't before.
C) obviously, only registered drivers are a part of, thereby limiting outreach to urban, low-income populations. resulting voter registrations favor the GOP.
AND they do it 1.5 months before a big election.
I still can't figure out if they're just stupid and well-meaning or if they're intent really was malicious like the GOPers in Pennsylvania, Florida, etc.
How about this for really going down the conspiracy wormhole.... they sent these out to people with Driver's Licenses, knowing non-citizens would receive them, only to further Sam Reed's new pet project... accessing the SAVE Database and requiring citizenship for Driver's Licenses.
22
I FUCKING KNEW IT! I knew Sam Reed was a sneaky, manipulative Republican just waiting to rig the election for his buddies. I said so a month ago - look at my postings from before. DO NOT - I REPEAT, DO NOT - VOTE FOR ANY REPUBLICAN EVER AGAIN. Especially not for Sec of State, where the Republicans can mess with our ballots and pull these stunts. Does Kathleen Drew's campaign know about this? Man, we all to go tell everybody for to vote for her. This is so fucking messed up.
23
Chelydra, your logic would serve you well in the Republican party. Have you applied for a job with them? The reality is that many people sadly trust their government. So when they receive a notice like that, some people will go through and try to register again, some will believe that they are no longer registered and be discouraged from voting, and some will get frustrated with how the govt makes everything so hard and and just give up and not vote. This may be exactly what YOU WANT, but it's not what the rest of America wants. To pull this shit like 1 week or two before deadline for registration creates unnecessary panic and frustration, when we should be wanting people to get excited about voting. I never seen such fucked up logic as Republicans who think it's a virtue to discourage Americans from voting. I suppose any day now, you'll want to skip elections altogether. You'll say, whoever raises the most money is obviously the most qualified and automatically gets elected.
24
#20, if I got the postcard, I'd think, what the fuck, given that I've lived here for almost 20 years, and at the same address, always getting ballots and mailing them back. But I'd check. And then I'd learn that I was registered. And then I'd get pissed at the fuckin' state government asswipe who sent me the stupid postcard and gave me some meaningless busy work to do when I had 25 other things on the list.
Who the fuck are these people to assume that we've all got the time to do this kind of crap? It reminds of the computer and cellphone companies. They sell you the toy, and then you spend countless hours transferring everything over. They put ZERO value on your time.
And now some asswipe in Olympia is going to get cute and do it? I hope this answers your stupid question, ya fuckin' moron.
Who the fuck are these people to assume that we've all got the time to do this kind of crap? It reminds of the computer and cellphone companies. They sell you the toy, and then you spend countless hours transferring everything over. They put ZERO value on your time.
And now some asswipe in Olympia is going to get cute and do it? I hope this answers your stupid question, ya fuckin' moron.
25
@23
"So when they receive a notice like that, some people will go through and try to register again"
And then what? The Men in Black will come knocking on their doors? When the SOS's office gets a duplicate registration, they use it to update the voter's information if it's different, or they discard the duplicate. They don't register someone to vote twice. (Source: WAC 434-324-055)
"some will believe that they are no longer registered and be discouraged from voting"
So this belief will somehow prevent their ballot from being mailed to them? Opening your mailbox two weeks before the election and seeing a ballot with your name printed on it is a pretty clear signal that you are registered to vote and the postcard didn't know what the fuck it was talking about.
"some will get frustrated with how the govt makes everything so hard and and just give up and not vote"
They get a postcard that says they might not be registered. They check and make sure they're registered. Or they don't check. They get their ballot in the mail. They fill it out and send it in. Or they don't fill it out and send it in. Yeah, that's pretty fucking hard. Goddamn gummint.
"To pull this shit like 1 week or two before deadline for registration..."
I got my postcard last Wednesday or Thursday. Printed on the back side were the words, "Register online or by mail before October 8. New voters can register in person through October 29th." That's two and a half weeks' notice to register online or by mail, and five weeks' notice to register in person.
"...creates unnecessary panic and frustration, when we should be wanting people to get excited about voting."
Any registered voter who panics at the sight of this postcard has got to be pretty goddamn excited about voting in the first place. Is the postcard going to discourage a person like that from voting?
Any registered voters not excited about voting by now probably aren't going to get excited. And again, they get their ballot in the mail just like everyone else. Is the postcard going to make any difference on whether they toss their ballot in the junk mail pile, or they open it up, fill it out, and send it in?
Any unregistered voters getting the postcard will either register to vote, or they won't. If they register, great. If they don't, the postcard had nothing to do with it.
Let me ask this: Do you think more registered people will decide not to vote based on this postcard, or do you think more unregistered people will go, "Shit, I almost forgot to register to vote. Better hurry up and do it before the deadlines pass."?
Republicans have done all sorts of underhanded shit to prevent eligible people from voting and confuse people into not voting. This isn't one of them. Purging the voting rolls of immigrant citizens is one of them (see Florida, upcoming election). Sending postcards with the wrong absentee ballot deadline is one of them (see Wisconsin, 2011 recall). Using an unreliable list of dead people to purge voter rolls is one (see Texas, upcoming election). Deliberately jamming phone lines for a Democrat-run ride-to-the-poll service is one (see NH, 2002). There are plenty of others, starting with the grand tradition of poll taxes and literacy tests.
If Washington were not a vote-by-mail state, this WOULD be a big deal. I WOULD agree with you that at best, it's a well-intentioned clusterfuck, and at worst an attempt at voter suppression.
@24
"And then I'd get pissed at the fuckin' state government asswipe who sent me the stupid postcard and gave me some meaningless busy work to do when I had 25 other things on the list."
So... this means you're not going to vote then? Goddammit, the conspiracy to discourage voting is working! Those sneaky bastards! But good for you for standing up for your principles. That'll teach the gummint not to waste your time.
More...
"So when they receive a notice like that, some people will go through and try to register again"
And then what? The Men in Black will come knocking on their doors? When the SOS's office gets a duplicate registration, they use it to update the voter's information if it's different, or they discard the duplicate. They don't register someone to vote twice. (Source: WAC 434-324-055)
"some will believe that they are no longer registered and be discouraged from voting"
So this belief will somehow prevent their ballot from being mailed to them? Opening your mailbox two weeks before the election and seeing a ballot with your name printed on it is a pretty clear signal that you are registered to vote and the postcard didn't know what the fuck it was talking about.
"some will get frustrated with how the govt makes everything so hard and and just give up and not vote"
They get a postcard that says they might not be registered. They check and make sure they're registered. Or they don't check. They get their ballot in the mail. They fill it out and send it in. Or they don't fill it out and send it in. Yeah, that's pretty fucking hard. Goddamn gummint.
"To pull this shit like 1 week or two before deadline for registration..."
I got my postcard last Wednesday or Thursday. Printed on the back side were the words, "Register online or by mail before October 8. New voters can register in person through October 29th." That's two and a half weeks' notice to register online or by mail, and five weeks' notice to register in person.
"...creates unnecessary panic and frustration, when we should be wanting people to get excited about voting."
Any registered voter who panics at the sight of this postcard has got to be pretty goddamn excited about voting in the first place. Is the postcard going to discourage a person like that from voting?
Any registered voters not excited about voting by now probably aren't going to get excited. And again, they get their ballot in the mail just like everyone else. Is the postcard going to make any difference on whether they toss their ballot in the junk mail pile, or they open it up, fill it out, and send it in?
Any unregistered voters getting the postcard will either register to vote, or they won't. If they register, great. If they don't, the postcard had nothing to do with it.
Let me ask this: Do you think more registered people will decide not to vote based on this postcard, or do you think more unregistered people will go, "Shit, I almost forgot to register to vote. Better hurry up and do it before the deadlines pass."?
Republicans have done all sorts of underhanded shit to prevent eligible people from voting and confuse people into not voting. This isn't one of them. Purging the voting rolls of immigrant citizens is one of them (see Florida, upcoming election). Sending postcards with the wrong absentee ballot deadline is one of them (see Wisconsin, 2011 recall). Using an unreliable list of dead people to purge voter rolls is one (see Texas, upcoming election). Deliberately jamming phone lines for a Democrat-run ride-to-the-poll service is one (see NH, 2002). There are plenty of others, starting with the grand tradition of poll taxes and literacy tests.
If Washington were not a vote-by-mail state, this WOULD be a big deal. I WOULD agree with you that at best, it's a well-intentioned clusterfuck, and at worst an attempt at voter suppression.
@24
"And then I'd get pissed at the fuckin' state government asswipe who sent me the stupid postcard and gave me some meaningless busy work to do when I had 25 other things on the list."
So... this means you're not going to vote then? Goddammit, the conspiracy to discourage voting is working! Those sneaky bastards! But good for you for standing up for your principles. That'll teach the gummint not to waste your time.
26
Chelydra, the point is that this is A HUGE WASTE of tax-payer dollars and GIGANTIC WASTE of tax-payer time, for NO FUCKING BENEFIT. Other than to confuse the voters and suppress the voters. Wasn't the so-fucking honorable Secretary of State Sam Reed the one who said that he didn't have enough fucking money to print out voter pamphlets in the primaries? Well, how much does it fucking cost to print out 1.1 MILLION postcards with wrong information? It just goes to show you how fucked up Republican logic is. Any dollar that could be used to educate voters and encourage them to vote is dollar not worth spending. But any dollar that could be used to frustrate and piss off voters right before the election, WITH WRONG FUCKING INFORMATION, is dollar well worth spent. I just want to know, Chelydra, cause it seems like you're all buddy buddy with Sam Reed and his sneaky protege Kim Wyman: who approved spending the money to mail out these million postcards? Was it the same fucking person who said we didn't have enough money to mail the voter pamphlets?
27
Oh, one other thing. How do we even fucking know that these million people who got the postcard "by mistake" will even get a ballot next month? What if even half of them don't? Maybe some will believe the lie in the postcard and think they are no longer registered, so they won't even complain. Maybe some will call Sam Reed's office and be told that they were supposed to reply to Sec of State's office by a deadline, and they missed the deadline. So too bad. By the time all this confusion is sorted out, we end up with rigged elections and thousands of people not being able to vote. But all the fucking mainstream media that are in the pockets of Koch brothers and endorsing these lame ass Republicans will say, we don't know what happened. It's just low voter turnout, that's all. FUCK THIS SHIT. Someone needs to call Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews right now! Headline news: Washington state Republican Sam Reed joins its racist, corrupt Republican brothers in other states to suppress votes!!!!
28
"It will be found an unjust and unwise jealousy to deprive a man of his natural liberty upon the supposition he may abuse it." -- George Washington
29
I also received the postcard. When I called the Secretary of State’s office I was given the same song and dance about comparing data bases. According to the person I spoke with the DMV data base had incorrectly listed my middle initial. This was obviously a lie. Had DMV done so the mistake would have been reflected in my driver license number, which was correct and also matched the middle initial printed on my Voter Registration Card. When I pointed this out, the person I spoke with did not admit that he lied. Instead, he started fishing around for an alternative explanation, suggesting that I may have been flagged because my wife and I use different last names. Give me a break! A more logical explanation might be that my wife and I are both democrats. Or maybe it has to do with our education (I have a MA in anthropology and my wife is just finishing her PhD). Or maybe it’s my veterans status (retired Navy, 100% disabled veteran and a card carrying member of Veterans for Peace). Whatever the reason really is, it stinks of republican voter intimidation (let’s not forget how close the last Washington State governors election was).
30
Holy schmoly! Did you guys hear about this pathetic attempt at voter suppression from the racist Tea Party hate group Freedom Foundation???? They are getting $ millions from Koch brothers to suppress votes just in time for 2012 elections. So let me get this straight. They are manipulating this "Sunshine Committee" (whatever the fuck that is) to try to catch these law-abiding legal immigrants who are fucking serving jury duty - to see if they are going to vote illegally. Even though no one has fucking ever heard of law-abiding jury serving immigrants voting illegally? What crock of bullshit is this?
Goldy, Dominic, fucking get on this now. We got our own voter suppression brewing in our backyard. Sam Reed = Freedom Foundation = Tea Party Republicans = Koch Brothers = racist voter suppression lawbreakers!!!
http://blog.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/kline…
Goldy, Dominic, fucking get on this now. We got our own voter suppression brewing in our backyard. Sam Reed = Freedom Foundation = Tea Party Republicans = Koch Brothers = racist voter suppression lawbreakers!!!
http://blog.senatedemocrats.wa.gov/kline…
31
The Secretary of State's web site, myvote.wa.gov, now does not show me as registered, while the King County's does, and a call to the State Elections Office leads to someone who tells me that I'm registered.
32
Here's a likely voter suppression scenario: Registered voter gets the postcard, voter doesn't phone the Sec. of State's office and re-registers online - or phones and doesn't trust the runaround explanations given and re-registers online - and one registration name has a middle name or initial and the other doesn't, on Election Day the legal ballot is thrown out because of suspicions potential voter fraud/double registration by the Sec. of State's office. Multiply this my hundreds of thousands of voters and Washington is suddenly a swing state.
The charges of paranoia on this thread are naive to anyone who knows anything about Jim Crow tactics. Election hacking is a big business worldwide, and people can be amazingly creative in their work when paid to be so.
The charges of paranoia on this thread are naive to anyone who knows anything about Jim Crow tactics. Election hacking is a big business worldwide, and people can be amazingly creative in their work when paid to be so.
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