“Inaccurate” mailings prompt alert by elections office
A completed Vote By Mail ballot is shown ready to be mailed to a voter at the Marion County Election Center in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, June 29, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.
A mail-in ballot is shown in this 2020 file photo at the Marion County Election Center in Ocala [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]
Residents started receiving the mailings last week from the Voter Participation Center (VPC) and the Center for Voter Information (CVI), both of Washington D.C., according to a press release from the local elections office.
The mailings are soliciting residents to register to vote, but the information used to pref-fill the mailers comes from commercial data that includes inaccurate and outdated information.
Previously, mailings went to already-registered voters, deceased persons, minor children and even pets, the release states.
As president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections, Wilcox sent a letter to the groups on Sept. 21 asking the mailers to stop.
“These ongoing misleading and inaccurate mailings from the VPC and CVI continue to erode voter confidence and increase suspicion, mistrust, and anger among Florida voters,” the letter states.
The letter also explains Florida’s participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). The multi-state partnership hopes to improve voter roll accuracy and increase access to voter registration. ERIC allows states to compare voter registration data with other states, motor vehicle departments, the Social Security Administration, and the Postal Service’s National Change of Address registry.
“The mailings of VPC and CVI are counterproductive and place an unnecessary burden on the elections’ office staff to defend our positions and regain voter trust, amid actively preparing for upcoming elections,” according to Wilcox’s letter.
Marion County residents can verify their voter registration status or eligibility by visiting www.VoteMarion.Gov or calling (352) 620-3290, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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