Tristan Wood
A wave of 12,000 Leon County residents recently received unofficial voter registration mailings, according to the Supervisor of Elections.
Two left-of-center voter registration and outreach organizations, the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information, have sent letters with a partially filled voter registration application form and a return envelope addressed to the Leon County Supervisor of Elections Office. While legal, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley expressed concern that the mailings could confuse or anger voters.
Earley said in a statement that mailings are in no way affiliated with the elections office and that the office has not supplied any of the information used in them. He said the mailings often contain outdated or inaccurate information about the recipient’s registration status, which could lead to concerns about election integrity.
“Incorrect data in past mailings has misled or angered voters who received them for family members who are deceased, never resided in the household, or are addressed to minor children or even pets,” he added. “These mailings often arouse suspicion from voters who believe their registration has in some way been compromised, or cause confusion and distrust in elections.”
These mailings are contributing to further election concern that has been more prominent since the 2020 elections, Earley said.
“It is a shame that at a time of heightened concern about elections, these groups continue to contact our voters, causing even more confusion.”
In a statement to Florida Politics, VPC and CVI President and CEO Tom Lopach said the organizations are non-profit, non-partisan organizations that work to ensure that people of color, young people, and unmarried women participate in democracy equal to their presence in society.
“VPC and CVI are bringing democracy to Floridians by providing hundreds of thousands with the same official voter registration applications used by their county,” Lopach said. “Leon county voters can easily register to vote by simply signing the application from VPC and CVI and dropping it back in the mail.”
Lopach also touted the two organization’s accomplishments, including helping helping more than 5.7 million Americans register to vote since 2003.
“VPC and CVI will keep working to ensure that every Floridian can make their voices heard in November and in future elections,” he said.
Leon voters can check their current voter registration status at this website. Potential voters who wish to register to vote or current voters who need to update their registration can do so on Florida’s online voter registration system.
If residents receive letters from either of the two groups and wish to be removed from their mailing list, they can do so by using these methods of contact:
Voter Participation Center
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 877-255-6750
Web: voterparticipation.org
Center for Voter Information
E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 866-290-1599
Web: centerforvoterinformation.org
One comment
TONY
March 22, 2022 at 4:31 pm
Fine the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information $1,000 for each Registration that is questionable. This needs to stop. I have noticed that even the League of Women Voters are Biased and lean heavily towards the Democrat Left which is why I stopped supporting them.
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