Voter Registration Mailers Creating Confusion In Pasco

PASCO COUNTY, FL — A Pasco County woman received a voter registration application in the mail for who mother, who has been deceased since 2012. Another woman received an application for a sister of hers who has never once lived in Florida. A third was surprised to see, after 40 years of marriage, an application arrive under her maiden name.

Those are just a few of the stories Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said his office has fielded in recent days since the nonprofit Voter Registration Center sent out a mass mailing of registration forms to voters in Pasco and beyond. Many people who are already registered to vote have also received the application forms in the mail, as well, Corley’s office reported Thursday.

"The majority of the phone calls we are receiving are from already registered voters who are questioning what has happened to their voter registration," Corley said in an email to media. "This is very confusing to them, and rightly so. It is creating suspicion, mistrust, and increased anger which further erodes the confidence of voters and unnecessarily places a burden on the elections' office staff which is actively preparing for upcoming elections."

See Also:

• Pasco Election Chief Fears Mailers Will Cause Confusion

The Voter Participation Center was at the root of similar problems in 2008, 2012 and 2015, Corley recalled. The reason, he asserts, is their voter registration campaigns rely on “erroneous consumer data lists,” he said. “In 2014, their campaign focused on vote-by-mail ballot requests, which created confusion for voters who had already requested and sent in their vote-by-mail ballot.”

The Voter Participation Center website says the organization is a “research-driven, non-profit and non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing the participation of unmarried women and other historically underrepresented groups in our democracy.”

The group reported on its website March 24 that it was in the process of sending out 4 million voter registration applications to voters in 20 states.

Corley urges voters who are unsure of their registration status to check on the state’s Division of Election’s website, or the county elections office website.

As for those who want to take up the matter of the mailers with the Voter Participation Center directly, Corley says to contact Jennifer Carrier at 202-420-3034 or toll free at 877-255-6750.

“We have dealt with VPC in the past, and sadly, they continue to cause unnecessary confusion for the voters,” Corley said. “It’s time they hear from the voters.”

Patch tried to call the VPC, but no one answered the phone.

Image via Shutterstock

Sign up for the Land O’ Lakes Patch newsletter and alerts!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, too!