Novel way to "Get out the Vote"?

[SK-1]

A liberal Wisconsin group is apparently circulating mailers to registered voters with the names and voting histories of their neighbors to get them to turn out in Tuesday’s recall election against Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

“Scott Walker won in 2010 because too many people stayed home!” reads the letter from the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund, which was obtained by The Blaze. The group is the political spending arm of the Greater Wisconsin Committee and is not affiliated with any candidate. The Greater Wisconsin Committee describes itself as engaging in “grassroots lobbying on critical Wisconsin issues to promote a progressive public policy agenda.”

“The chart shows the names of some of your neighbors, showing which have voted in the past,” the mailer states. “Look at the list below; are there neighbors on this list you know? Call them or knock on their door before Election Day, and ask them to go vote on Tuesday, June 5th.”

It adds in a somewhat ominous tone, “After the June 5th election, public records will tell everyone who voted and who didn’t.”

The letter states all voter data came from the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, which oversees the state’s elections. A form on the agency’s website may be used to request such data for purchase.

According to the Associated Press, the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund has spent $4.8 million on the recall effort.

Ann Althouse, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin, wrote on her blog Friday that she’d received the same mailing from the group at her Madison home.

“This is an effort to shame and pressure people about voting, and it is truly despicable,” Althouse wrote. “Your vote is private, you have a right not to vote, and anyone who tries to shame and an harass you about it is violating your privacy, and the assumption that I will become active in shaming and pressuring my neighbors is repugnant.”

An emailed request for comment to the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund was not immediately returned.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/libe...ing-in-recall/
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-05/D9V3QN0G0.htm

[FordGT90Concept]

That's...pretty dispicable.

[DannibusX]

If I got that I would be pissed. I don't care if it's public record, this is a very inappropriate use IMHO.

[Screaming Beaver]

i'm amazed that so many on that example list voted themselves, given the shitty turnout in this country.

[erocker]

Originally Posted by Screaming Beaver

i'm amazed that so many on that example list voted themselves, given the shitty turnout in this country.

People vote in Wisconsin. For this recall election we're having they're expecting turnout to be 65-70%.