Posted on 11/01/2018 6:33:25 PM PDT by dayglored
Note: Over 13 years an active FReeper and after posting 528 threads and 17,332 replies, this is my first vanity.
A week ago my wife received the first of a series of postal mailings from the "Center for Voter Information", purporting to be from a "Lionel Dripps" (I'm not making this up).
It was addressed to my wife's MAIDEN name (we've been married almost three years). That was odd.
It was postmarked from an official-looking address in Albany (we're in New York), its information was based on public voter registration and voting records, and it told her to vote in the upcoming election. Okay, buddy, thanks for the reminder, right?
Except that it also said they were going to call her to check up and find out why she voted (or didn't). That was unsettling.
Then a few days later a second letter arrived, and this one was much more direct, even somewhat arrogant. And again, the warning about how they're going to call and find out whether she voted and other personal and private information.
Then today a third letter arrived, and this one was a "Voting Report Card for {her name}", with a list of recent elections and whether she had voted or not, and a bar graph rating her "Voting Score" and comparing it to others in our area. And again the warning about a phone call to check up on her.
Now she (and I) are getting aggravated. This is harassment! Who needs this cr@p in the mail, over and over?!?
So we decided to do a little research on the Internet. And guess what? This "Center for Voter Information" is an organization that targets young people, African-Americans, Latinos, and -- you guessed it -- unmarried women. Which is why her maiden name showed up.
What is common among those groups? They all lean Left -- Democrat.
And guess what else? Lionel Dripps and his Center for Voter Information, although they claim to be non-partisan and unbiased, are progressive Leftists -- it's all over their webpages, if you read them (google "center for voter information lionel dripps")
We also learned that in many states, this organization is accused of a variety of near-fraudulent mailings (registration forms, absentee ballots, etc.) many of which have errors in the names -- which means they're probably trolling for extra-legal votes. Standard Democrat tactics, going back decades.
Now we're pi$$ed off, and are going to notify the local Board of Elections if another letter arrives -- we can only guess what that one will say!
So my question to my fellow FReepers is: "What do you know about this organization and this creep Lionel Dripps? Have you received letters like this, or been sent forms that aren't from state officials, but instead from this third-party organization?"You might say this is just dirty politics, which being from Democrats doesn't surprise me, but the personal harassment and threats are over the freakin' line!
Lemme know what you think, and especially if you have more information on these b@st@rds!
Sounds like a scheme to intimidate minorities and unmarried women into going to the polls on the theory that these people are more likely to vote ‘rat than not - I’d report them directly to state Attorney General or the federal state-prosecutor......
Where we are, I have to haul it down to the municipal trash dump -and- pay a fee per pound. But it's still a d@mn sight less trouble than burning it in the back meadow...
Yeah, that seems to be what it is.
Problem with trying to report it is, we live in The People's Democratic Republic of New York. Granted, we're in upstate which is generally more conservative, but still the state officials are heavily Democrat. Not sure we'd get much traction in Albany.
My daughter got one of those as well.
They claim they are not endorsing anyone but their *information* is worded in such a way as to be loaded.
The first question is, “Do the candidates support making it easier for the mentally ill or convicted felons to obtain firearms?”
Of course, the claim Katko is for it. He’a R.
The second question is about supporting cutting funding to Medicaid.
Same answer.
The third question is about supporting tax cuts for *millionaires* and corporations, same answer.
I saw it as the slanted, biased propaganda that it was.
I thought it was curious that it was addressed to my daughter but neither my husband nor myself got one.
You gave me the answer as to why.
I had tossed it but dug it out of the recycling and will hang onto it and see what develops from it.
It was addressed to my wife’s MAIDEN name (we’ve been married
almost three years). That was odd.
************
What’s odd about that? You got married, moved into you wife’s address
and they are using dated data which shows her name before you married.
That’s where my daughter’s mailing ended up, next to our AARP junk.
Except that it is intimidating.
It’s no different than the *Keeping up with the Joneses* energy report National Greed er, Grid, sends us every month or so.
I throw those out unopened as well.
I don’t give a rip about how I compare to our neighbors.
Yes, that became increasingly clear to us, which is why we investigated further.
> I thought it was curious that it was addressed to my daughter but neither my husband nor myself got one. You gave me the answer as to why. I had tossed it but dug it out of the recycling and will hang onto it and see what develops from it.
You made our evening, metmom! So glad to have been able to share our concern with others in a useful way.
True; it would have been odder if we'd been married, say, 10 years and they used her maiden name.
Exactly!
I understand and agree with the reason that voter registration and voting records are public knowledge -- it makes it harder to manufacture fraudulent votes. Okay, that's a good thing.
But where should the line be drawn, to limit the ability of a political organization to use that data to intimidate voters? Is there no threshold of privacy or decency regarding the use of public data about private individuals?
That is what I would like an answer to. If I knew who to ask, it'd be easier to find out. But ask me if I trust any d@mn politician to give me an honest answer.
Dripps has sent me mail in WA-8 also. He out and out lied about our R candidate’s stances. Lots of people called in the next day complaining. There may have been actionable campaign finance violations. Keep the mail and bring it to your R candidate ... they’ll know the law and what do about it.
I think he’s in trouble in VA too.
.
Call your local postal inspector and show them the letters.
I think this stuff is a felony.
Notify all relevant “voting” authorities in your state/city about these letters. They might constitute “harassment” or “voter interference”.
Don’t wait. Do it NOW!
To Mrs Dayglored,
You’re very welcome!
If it’s a postage paid card, I would tape it to a concrete block and send it back.
What exactly is intimidating? They are using public records and are stating “You voted in 3 of the last 4 elections. Go vote!”
Much ado about nothing.
My wife got the same letter, but no follow up letters. It pointed out the voting record of Tim Walberg by his supported legislation, and Gretchen Diskell’s campaign info. Nothing more. Same guy and organization, but at 3105 S. Martin Luther King Blvd #355, Lansing.
I got the same letter showing my past voting record and that of my neighbors (redacted). Then a gentleman knocked on my door requesting to speak with my daughter.
I told him to get of my porch!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.