tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post4702980387392027864..comments2024-03-15T01:11:32.832-07:00Comments on Bardiac: Political MailBardiachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11846065504793800266noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-11653150219235320062012-06-04T06:37:24.647-07:002012-06-04T06:37:24.647-07:00Bardiac, our state doesn't have party registra...Bardiac, our state doesn't have party registration, so that was not the basis for the mailing. The data (voted or not voted) comes from a state database available on the web--riddled with mistakes and not up to date. I would say ignore it, personally. Oh, and the PAC that sent it out is linked to "your" party, but really only to the conservative wing. If you were to look up their major donors, you would find prominent supports of the other party well represented on the list.richardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-80154981244105280312012-06-03T21:02:45.014-07:002012-06-03T21:02:45.014-07:00Typically the voter file includes that kind of inf...Typically the voter file includes that kind of information: where people are registered to vote, what party they belong to (if the state has party registration), which elections they have or haven't voted in. If a state does not have party registration, you can see which party primaries a person has voted in and guess at their party affiliation that way.<br /><br />It is not typically available to ANYBODY, but it is available to political parties and candidate campaigns. (I don't know the exact details for your state, I'm speaking from my knowledge of how it works in other states.) So I think your guess is right and that it's probably either a party or a campaign that has sent you this mailer, and it is meant to encourage voter turnout by holding people accountable.<br /><br />I can sympathize with your feeling creeped out by this. But, to turn things around a bit -- should any of us really be able to hide behind a privacy shield to evade our public responsibility to participate in the political process and build the kind of world we ought to have? I mean, yes, it SUCKS beyond words that teachers and public employees are being attacked the way they are -- but there's only one way to stop it, and that is to fight back and defeat the people who are doing the attacking. If (generic, not you) people who believe those attacks are wrong put their head in the sands to the point where they don't even vote... that's disastrous.<br /><br />Some people are taking a more active role in the fight than you are (I mean, you're going to vote, right? Right???) And that is fine, I'm not criticizing you on those grounds -- but I'm just saying that voting should be the VERY minimum people do, and that holding people accountable for at least that -- well, maybe it's a good thing.<br /><br />I think this idea that politics is mean and low and rude to talk about is bad for democracy and particularly bad for people on our side. And that belief informs what I'm suggesting here. Anyway, it IS a suggestion, I'm interested to hear what you think.humanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09557354324364735817noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-68854661000043306762012-06-03T07:51:49.436-07:002012-06-03T07:51:49.436-07:00Sounds like the kind of thing that might be an aca...Sounds like the kind of thing that might be an academic study. Does knowing your neighbors' record get you more interested in voting? Wonder if that was easy to get through the IRB...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974015.post-63795833455687752422012-06-03T07:05:49.147-07:002012-06-03T07:05:49.147-07:00Party registration is a matter of public record fo...Party registration is a matter of public record for some reason (at least it was in NC) but that still is creepy....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com