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No privacy for the voter rolls

Open to politicians but not businesses

 Mr. B is certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while. - Image by Rick Geary
Mr. B is certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

Hey, Scumbag! Can't handle the tough questions! Stick with trivia. Names, places, and dates, scumbag. You're not good enough to go for: Why does the San Diego Registrar of Voters SELL OUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! — Dick Butmouth, Normal Heights

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I happen to know “Butmouth” is fake. His first two postcards had his real name on them. Guess we didn’t hop on this question quite fast enough to suit him. I considered ignoring it a while longer just to see what he’d call me next week. But Grandma Alice, queen of the mailroom here at La Casa de Preguntas, always cries when people write mean things about her kids. Already Mr. Butmouth has her boo-hooing into her apron. And anyway, the squeaky wheel gets the grease because it’s such an aggravation, so I guess I’ll give Mr. B his answer. He’s certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

As I think you already know, Mr. B, the Registrar of Voters does not auction us off to people hawking shares in fake gold mines or “free” trips to Hawaii. The voter rolls historically have been public record, like our criminal records, fictitious business-name filings, and other public activities. In most cases, if you’re willing to do the footwork, anyone can look up this information at no charge. Voter registration information has never been available (for sale or otherwise) to businesses, and as of January 1, it’s not available in any form to the general public. The registrar’s office is still able to “sell” registration information to legally recognized political committees and candidates. Paragraph 2184 of the state Election Code specifies that the charge will be 50 cents per thousand names, and the money will be deposited into the county general fund, so I don’t think the registrar’s decorator is out shopping for antique French desk chairs with the profits. And the general fund piggybank is mostly dust bunnies, so nobody’s getting fat off your vote except the usual suspects.

The new confidentiality laws were put in place to give stalkers and other wrong-doers one less source to help track down their victims. If the new system doesn’t suit you, Mr. B, please redirect your postcards to the office of the Secretary of State and your local lawmakers who dream this stuff up in the first place. But therein may lie the heart of the problem. Since lawmakers are politicians, and politicians are the ones most eager to use the lists during campaigns, you’re up against a bigger stonewall than Granny Alice’s personal pet, Matthew.

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 Mr. B is certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while. - Image by Rick Geary
Mr. B is certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

Hey, Scumbag! Can't handle the tough questions! Stick with trivia. Names, places, and dates, scumbag. You're not good enough to go for: Why does the San Diego Registrar of Voters SELL OUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! — Dick Butmouth, Normal Heights

Sponsored
Sponsored

I happen to know “Butmouth” is fake. His first two postcards had his real name on them. Guess we didn’t hop on this question quite fast enough to suit him. I considered ignoring it a while longer just to see what he’d call me next week. But Grandma Alice, queen of the mailroom here at La Casa de Preguntas, always cries when people write mean things about her kids. Already Mr. Butmouth has her boo-hooing into her apron. And anyway, the squeaky wheel gets the grease because it’s such an aggravation, so I guess I’ll give Mr. B his answer. He’s certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

As I think you already know, Mr. B, the Registrar of Voters does not auction us off to people hawking shares in fake gold mines or “free” trips to Hawaii. The voter rolls historically have been public record, like our criminal records, fictitious business-name filings, and other public activities. In most cases, if you’re willing to do the footwork, anyone can look up this information at no charge. Voter registration information has never been available (for sale or otherwise) to businesses, and as of January 1, it’s not available in any form to the general public. The registrar’s office is still able to “sell” registration information to legally recognized political committees and candidates. Paragraph 2184 of the state Election Code specifies that the charge will be 50 cents per thousand names, and the money will be deposited into the county general fund, so I don’t think the registrar’s decorator is out shopping for antique French desk chairs with the profits. And the general fund piggybank is mostly dust bunnies, so nobody’s getting fat off your vote except the usual suspects.

The new confidentiality laws were put in place to give stalkers and other wrong-doers one less source to help track down their victims. If the new system doesn’t suit you, Mr. B, please redirect your postcards to the office of the Secretary of State and your local lawmakers who dream this stuff up in the first place. But therein may lie the heart of the problem. Since lawmakers are politicians, and politicians are the ones most eager to use the lists during campaigns, you’re up against a bigger stonewall than Granny Alice’s personal pet, Matthew.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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