Pasco Election Chief Warns Of Misleading Mailers

Pasco County, FL — As the August primary date nears, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley is once again warning voters to not take fliers that come in the mail from a specific organization too seriously.

Corley says his office is once again receiving phone calls from voters who are confused and angry after receiving mailers from the Voter Participation Center in Washington, D.C.

"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 a statement. “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."

The mailers, Corley said, appear to be coming from his office. They are not.

Mailers from the Voter Participation Center have created confusion for Pasco County voters in the past.

Corley issued a warning before the March 15 Presidential Preference Primary, as well.

The Voter Participation Center was at the root of similar problems in 2008, 2012 and 2015, Corley said earlier this year. 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.”

In the not-so-distant past, a Pasco County woman received a voter registration application in the mail for her mother, who had been deceased since 2012. Another report came in from a woman who received an application for her sister, who has never lived in Florida.

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.”

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.

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