Maryland Attorney General Threatens Nonprofit Vote Shamers
A portion of the vote shaming letter used in New York
Any government letter that contains the phrase, “you are hereby instructed to CEASE AND DESIST from any communication,” is gonna be trouble. For the government, not the recipient. Any fool ought to know that much. But that’s what happened last week on Halloween. The Maryland Attorney General, sent a letter saying that much and more to two nonprofits behind the effort to shame out Democratic votes. He’s mad because the nonprofits sent letters saying they intend to disclose recipient’s voting record (“so you better vote, this time!”). The letter . . . states that “the Voter Participation Center will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.” The shame letters target African Americans, among other typically Democratic voters. I’m not sure whether I should be happy or mad about it, but that’s beside the point right now.
The AG, a Democratic brother from another mother, told them to shut up. Like me, he must be conflicted. He said the nonprofits’ talk is making some people feel bad – “intimidated, threatened, shocked, and [downright] ill-at-ease.” Regardless of the cognitive dissonance that inspired the effort, the threat is ridiculously unconstitutional state action against obnoxious and mouthy nonprofits harvesting Democratic votes. This is why I love scavenging for nonprofit stories. I love to laugh and there are just so many laughs. Here is a part of a WSJ report:
Nonprofit groups that sent letters threatening to publicize Maryland residents who fail to vote in Tuesday’s election have run afoul of the state’s attorney general, who ordered them to cease and desist with the mailings. Recipients who spoke to state officials “have uniformly described feeling intimidated, threatened, shocked, and ill-at-ease by this mailing, as the letter suggests that there will be follow-up after the election,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said. “This threat to publicly expose the recipient’s voting record violates both Maryland and federal laws.” Brown, a Democrat, ordered the Center for Voter Information and its affiliated Voter Participation Center, both based at the same Washington D.C., address, to respond by Friday.
Similar letters have blanketed mailboxes in other states, including New York. The groups are led by Tom Lopach, a longtime political operative who has worked for Democrats including former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, Montana Sen. Jon Tester and the late Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts. The organizations’ website says they “use data-driven methods of direct mail and digital engagement to register to vote and turn out to vote members of the New American Majority—people of color, unmarried women, and young people—with the end goal of helping to ensure a representative electorate in US elections.”
I mentioned above that the two nonprofit organizations, the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information, are being intentional assholes for their cause. Here is what one of the participants said, just to prove the point:
“I recognize that some people find the language in our letters off-putting,” Lopach said during an interview before the cease-and-desist letter was sent. “But again, for well over a decade, we’ve used letters like this. And we’ve used and tested letters with softer language, and what we have found is that this is the most effective get-out-the-vote letter that we can use.” Lopach said the centers have been working “for over 21 years” to increase voter participation.
“In everything we do, we run a randomized control trial. We test different language year after year, in special elections, in general elections, off years, midterm elections, and we have found that these letters are the most effective tool at increasing voter turnout, especially among the young population we serve,” he said. Jared DeMarinis, Maryland State Board of Elections administrator, said voter registration information is public record, so long as it is used for “electoral purposes.”
darryll k. jones