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I Aced my Voting Report Card, but... [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-11-02
I got an interesting letter in the mail today, from Gail L Kitch, Board Chair, for the Center for Voter Information. It was my “Voting Report Card”, from what is noted as “a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. This is the first time I ever recall hearing of, let alone being contacted by them.
CVI is an organization that is keeping tabs on me, clearly…not to mention, my neighbors.
[Although “Gail” can be either a man’s or a woman’s name, I’ll assume the writer is feminine based on the spelling.] So Ms. Kitch starts out:
Public records indicate that you are eligible to vote in the upcoming election on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. Who you vote for is private, but IF you vote is a matter of public record.
The bolding is Ms. Kitch’s, and already the tone of the letter has me wondering why I’m getting a letter at all. I’ve voted in every non-primary election since I cast my first vote for Jimmy Carter — for most of my Voter Lifetime, I was registered as an Independent, and at least in my state Independents are not allowed to vote in primaries. (There are some moves in the State Legislature to open up primaries to Independents, but that is still under consideration at this point in time.)
Ms. Kitch provides a little table illustrating how I and two [redacted] neighbors on my street cast (or did not cast) votes in the General Elections for 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022, with verdicts of “VOTED” or “N/A”. I aced my Voter Report Card, along with one other neighbor. The third neighbor completely missed out for the 2016 General Election (tsk, tsk.)
But then Ms. Kitch put her cards on the table:
We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.
The italics are mine. Alarm bells are sounding in my head! (Well, actually that’s probably my tinnitus, but still...) This organization — which until the letter arrived was quite a secret to me! — probably has some sort of legitimate reason for keeping tabs on people who vote, or don’t vote, but what’s behind this sudden announcement? As Monty Python noted, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition — certainly not popping up unannounced to encourage (?) voting by implying, “We’re watching you, lady, so you’d better vote. Or else.”
The Center for Voter Information claims to be non-partisan, so I can’t say its letter is an example of poor Democratic messaging...nor an example of Republican voter intimidation. But, sweet jeebus, what a thing to say!
And not one word of congratulations for my having successfully voted in all of the last four General Elections. Nope — just “we’re watching you...”
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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/2/2203245/-I-Aced-my-Voting-Report-Card-but?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
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