{"id":2290305,"date":"2024-07-08T03:47:59","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:47:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-left-wing-nonprofit-uses-voter-data-to-juice-dem-turnout\/"},"modified":"2024-07-08T03:58:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T07:58:19","slug":"this-left-wing-nonprofit-uses-voter-data-to-juice-dem-turnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-left-wing-nonprofit-uses-voter-data-to-juice-dem-turnout\/","title":{"rendered":"This Left-Wing Nonprofit Uses Voter Data To Juice Dem Turnout"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthis-left-wing-nonprofit-uses-voter-data-to-juice-dem-turnout%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2290305&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In an era where ballots, not voters, hold\u200b significant\u2063 value in U.S. elections, nonprofit voter registration \u2063plays a\u2063 crucial role in determining election outcomes. While conservatives have failed to recognize the importance of such operations in\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-endorsed-michael-whatley-launches-bid-to-lead-rnc-after-ronna-mcdaniels-departure\/\" title=\"Michael Whatley, endorsed by Trump, seeks to lead RNC after Ronna McDaniel&#039;s exit\">driving voter turnout<\/a>, leftists\u200b have embraced them, resulting in Democrats accumulating \u200belectoral wins despite their party\u2062 leader&#8217;s unpopularity. The Voter Participation Center (VPC), a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-outlet-tries-to-discredit-the-federalists-zuckbucks-reporting-because-it-makes-democrats-sad\/\" title=\"Arizona outlet attempts to undermine The Federalist&#039;s &#039;Zuckbucks&#039; coverage, citing Democratic dissatisfaction\">left-wing \u2064nonprofit<\/a>, aims to register Democratic-leaning populations to create a &#8220;New American Majority&#8221; and has been \u200binfluential in recent elections. VPC&#8217;s operations \u2063include\u2064 sending mailers with pre-populated voter registration forms\u200c and utilizing an online portal to collect voter data. Concerns about VPC&#8217;s partisanship have led to \u2063warnings from GOP\u200c election officials, and legal  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In an era of U.S. elections where ballots \u2014 not voters \u2014 are the favored currency, nonprofit voter registration has become instrumental in determining which candidate comes out on top at the ballot box.<\/p>\n<p>While conservatives have <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/28\/is-christian-nonprofit-voter-outreach-the-answer-to-beating-democrats-election-machine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">largely<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/16\/republicans-cant-afford-to-surrender-the-nonprofit-voter-registration-game-to-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed<\/a> to recognize the necessity of such operations in driving Republican voter turnout, leftists haven\u2019t. Unlike their opponents, Democrats have amassed a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/08\/16\/meet-the-tax-exempt-charity-secretly-bankrolling-democrats-get-out-the-vote-operations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">well-funded<\/a> machine that\u2019s accumulated their party <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/06\/12\/ignore-the-polls-republicans-have-a-major-voter-turnout-problem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">massive<\/a> electoral wins in recent cycles, even as the head of their party remains widely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearpolling.com\/polls\/approval\/joe-biden\/approval-rating\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unpopular<\/a> among the American electorate. <\/p>\n<p>Central to Democrats\u2019 efforts is the Voter Participation Center (VPC), a left-wing nonprofit that, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voterparticipation.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claiming<\/a> to be \u201cnonpartisan,\u201d aims to create a \u201cNew American Majority\u201d by facilitating \u201cregistration of numerous Democratic-leaning voting populations\u201d such as \u201cunmarried women, [racial] minorities and millennials,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/voter-participation-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">InfluenceWatch<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Originally known as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/womens-voices-women-vote\/\">Women\u2019s Voices Women Vote<\/a> prior to 2011, VPC was founded by Page Gardner, a prominent Democrat political operative connected to the Kennedy family, with help from John Podesta, the chair of Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign. Today, the group is run by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/person\/tom-lopach\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tom Lopach<\/a>, a Democrat operative and head of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/center-for-voter-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Center for Voter Information (CVI)<\/a>, VPC\u2019s \u201csister\u201d organization that helps it conduct partisan get-out-the-vote operations.<\/p>\n<p>A 2023 Restoration of America <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/09\/report-democrats-are-weaponizing-nonprofits-to-run-partisan-voter-registration-drives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">report<\/a> shows just how influential VPC and CVI\u2019s voter outreach has been in recent elections. During the 2020 contest, for example, the groups\u2019 registration-by-mail campaign purportedly produced an additional 272,443 votes, most of which came from battleground states such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan. Those figures are higher than the vote totals VPC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.restorationofamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/voter-participation-center-2020-report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a> it netted during the 2016 and 2018 election cycles. <\/p>\n<p>But VPC isn\u2019t your typical GOTV nonprofit. A closer look at the group\u2019s operations reveals how it uses voter data harvested through its registration efforts to enhance the left\u2019s election machine. <\/p>\n<h2>How VPC Operates<\/h2>\n<p>VPC\u2019s primary method of registering its \u201cNew American Majority\u201d is through the use of mailers it sends to prospective electors. <\/p>\n<p>After <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voterparticipation.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">accumulating<\/a> \u201ccommercial and public data to identify people who are eligible to vote but who need to register,\u201d the group sends registration forms to households it believes are occupied by these eligible voters. A Tennessee registration form sent to a state resident and provided to The Federalist shows how VPC pre-populates information about the individual on these forms, such as their address. <\/p>\n<div>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The form also comes with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-did-this-left-wing-elections-group-send-an-iraqi-refugee-a-voter-registration-form\/\" title=\"What Prompted a Left-Wing Elections Group to Send a Voter Registration Form to an Iraqi Refugee?\">pre-paid postage envelope<\/a> that includes the recipient\u2019s return address already filled out. The envelope is addressed to the local county election office.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Communication records obtained by The Federalist show how VPC notifies state election offices about its plans to disburse these materials to prospective voters prior to doing so. <\/p>\n<p>On Dec. 15, 2023, for example, VPC Deputy Director of Partnerships and Outreach Sarah Mitchell sent an email notifying Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals and members of the commonwealth\u2019s elections department of VPC\u2019s plans to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-joe-biden-used-taxpayer-money-to-buy-young-voters-in-the-2022-midterms\/\" title=\"How Joe Biden Used Taxpayer Money To Buy Young Voters In The 2022 Midterms\">mail voter registration forms<\/a> to prospective voters on March 21. Mitchell claimed the March mailings would be the \u201cfirst of three large scale voter registration mailings\u201d the group plans to send to Virginians in 2024 and sent to \u201cpeople who are turning 18 and newly eligible to register to vote, people who have moved between counties or into your state and according to our records need to update their registration, and addresses where our records show unregistered voters likely live.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mitchell sent a follow-up email on March 7, notifying the aforementioned officials that VPC\u2019s second batch of voter registration mailers would be distributed to residents around June 28.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[RELATED:[RELATED:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/16\/why-did-this-left-wing-elections-group-send-an-iraqi-refugee-a-voter-registration-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Did This Left-Wing Elections Group Send An Iraqi Refugee A Voter Registration Form?<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Speaking with The Federalist, Ned Jones, director of the Citizens Election Research Center of the Election Integrity Network, explained that sending multiple mailings to potential voters appears to be a strategy that allows VPC to narrow down its list of which voters it should direct its GOTV efforts toward as Election Day nears.<\/p>\n<p>It seems to be their attempt to \u201cget a feel for who\u2019s going to vote and who might not,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt\u2019s really complex.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>VPC\u2019s multiple mailings in Virginia match a strategy the group has deployed in other states, according to Jones.<\/p>\n<h2>Voter Data Collection<\/h2>\n<p>Encouraging voters to mail their voter registration applications to their local election office is just one aspect of VPC\u2019s strategy, however. The group also provides prospective electors with an option to register through its online portal.<\/p>\n<p>Included in VPC\u2019s mailings is a paper with a QR code that individuals can scan with their phones. After clicking on the link, users are taken to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voterparticipation.org\/register-to-vote\/?source=VPC-SpringVR2024-LB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online registration portal<\/a> operated by VPC and Rock the Vote (RTV), \u201ca left-progressive-aligned organization \u2026 whose stated mission is to engage and \u2018build the political power of young people,&#8217;\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/rock-the-vote\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">InfluenceWatch<\/a>. <\/p>\n<div>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Users are required to enter their email address and zip code before proceeding. Upon continuing through the process, these users are required to provide personal information, such as their full name, address, and date of birth. They\u2019re also asked to answer a series of questions, such as \u201cIs this your first time registering to vote?\u201d and \u201cWhy are you registering to vote?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a March 5 email to Beals and Virginia\u2019s election officials, Mitchell claimed that including a QR code on its mailings has \u201cresulted in a roughly 20% shift from recipients returning [VPC\u2019s] mail applications to instead filling out online voter registration applications.\u201d She separately contended in an email sent to these same officials two days later that \u201cclose to 50% of the young people who received [VPC\u2019s] mail chose to register [online].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s most alarming, however, is that registering through the VPC-RTV portal allows these groups to acquire voters\u2019 personal data and share it with other third parties. Located at the bottom of the registration page is RTV\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rockthevote.org\/about-rock-the-vote\/privacy-policy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">privacy policy<\/a>, which stipulates that it may share an individual\u2019s \u201cpersonal information\u201d with \u201cpartners and organizations with principles and missions that overlap with those of RTV,\u201d \u201caffiliates and companies with whom [RTV] share[s] common ownership,\u201d and other listed third parties.<\/p>\n<p>Data classified as \u201cpersonal\u201d by RTV includes an individual\u2019s identifiers (name, address, Social Security number), demographic information (race, sex, marital status), professional information (employer), internet activity information (IP address, language preferences, device ID), and non-precise geolocation information (\u201cgeolocation derived from [a user\u2019s] IP address\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>The amount of information collected by RTV is dependent on how a user interacts with its online services, according to the privacy policy. <\/p>\n<p>RTV does, however, allow users to \u201copt out\u201d of \u201csupporter list exchanges.\u201d (That\u2019s when RTV shares users\u2019 identifier information with \u201cnamed partners and other organizations with principles and\/or missions that overlap with those of RTV\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Neither VPC nor RTV responded to The Federalist\u2019s request for comment on what specific third parties they share personal voter data acquired through the voter registration portal with. Nor did either group respond when pressed on how long they have been collaborating on voter registration activities.<\/p>\n<h2>Growing Concerns<\/h2>\n<p>VPC\u2019s antics have drawn attention from prominent GOP election officials. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/26\/alabama-secretary-of-state-warns-of-misleading-voter-registration-mailer-by-leftist-group\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alabama<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wdsu.com\/article\/louisiana-secretary-of-state-nancy-landry-warning-voters-about-mailers-distributed-by-third-party-group-baton-rouge\/60432558\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Louisiana<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sos.ms.gov\/news\/official-statement-voter-registration-mailers-third-parties\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mississippi\u2019s<\/a> secretaries of state have issued press releases in recent months warning voters that VPC\u2019s mailers are not official correspondence from their respective offices. Alabama Secretary of State Allen West went a step further by \u201cofficially discourag[ing]\u201d the \u201ctargeted\u201d mailings, which he said represents \u201cpartisan interference by out-of-state, third-party organizations [that] is unnecessary, confusing, and counterproductive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Concerns about VPC\u2019s partisanship are not new. Last week, the Capital Research Center\u2019s Parker Thayer <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ParkerThayer\/status\/1806365465830141976\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">shared<\/a> a photo of what appears to be a VPC mailing with former First Lady Michelle Obama on the cover.<\/p>\n<p>VPC did not respond to The Federalist\u2019s request for comment on how it can claim to be a \u201cnonpartisan\u201d organization while using Obama\u2019s likeness on its mailers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPutting Michelle Obama on the front of a voter registration form is obviously a tactic to filter out Republicans, who will be more likely to throw it out after assuming it\u2019s a Democrat fundraiser,\u201d Thayer wrote.<\/p>\n<figure><\/figure>\n<h2>Legal Remedies<\/h2>\n<p>Legislative efforts aimed at stymying third-party groups from flooding states with election mailers have largely failed to materialize, according to Jones. Even in states where such legislation passed, left-wing groups immediately sued to stop its implementation.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what happened three years ago in Georgia, when state Republicans passed <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/GA\/text\/SB202\/id\/2348602\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 202<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/georgia-voting-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">benign election integrity measure<\/a> that included a provision prohibiting third parties from mailing pre-filled absentee ballot applications to voters. Shortly after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure into law, Democrat-aligned groups launched a barrage of lawsuits baselessly alleging the statute suppressed voters, particularly racial minorities.<\/p>\n<p>A federal judge shot down Democrat groups\u2019 request that a preliminary injunction be placed on the law in October, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/12\/court-no-evidence-georgias-election-integrity-law-discriminates-against-black-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruling<\/a> plaintiffs failed to show evidence SB 202 \u201cintentionally discriminate[s] against black voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While legislative fixes to VPC\u2019s shenanigans are lacking, some conservative legal groups are taking action against the Democrat-aligned organization ahead of the 2024 election. On June 24, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/restoring-integrity-and-trust-in-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE)<\/a> filed a <a href=\"https:\/\/riteusa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/NCSBE_Voter_Registration_Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a> with the North Carolina State Board of Elections against VPC, CVI, and Rock the Vote \u201cfor unlawfully collecting and retaining personally identifiable information (\u2018PII\u2019) from voter registration applications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>RITE alleged that the aforementioned groups violated <a href=\"https:\/\/ncleg.net\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/HTML\/BySection\/Chapter_163\/GS_163-274.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Carolina law<\/a>, which prohibits \u201cany person who is not an elections official or who is not otherwise authorized by law to retain a registrant\u2019s signature, full or partial Social Security number, date of birth, or the identity of the public agency at which the registrant registered.\u201d The legal group additionally asked the board to investigate the groups based upon these allegations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe board of elections must investigate and, if necessary, put a stop to this outrageous betrayal of voter trust,\u201d RITE President Derek Lyons said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/riteusa.org\/complaint-filed-alleging-unlawful-retention-of-voter-data-by-leftwing-non-profits-in-north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. \u201cRetaining personally identifiable information demonstrates that groups like this may be more interested in their own agendas than in merely registering voters.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the current U.S. election climate, nonprofit voter registration plays a crucial role in determining election outcomes. While conservatives have not fully embraced the importance of these operations, Democrats have successfully utilized well-funded organizations like the Voter Participation Center (VPC) to register Democratic-leaning populations such as unmarried women, minorities, and millennials. VPC, originally known as Women&#8217;s Voices Women Vote, was founded by prominent Democrat operative Page Gardner and has been instrumental in driving voter turnout for the Democratic Party. The group uses mailers and online portals to register voters and collects personal data that can be shared with third parties. Concerns have been raised about the partisanship of VPC, with some GOP officials criticizing their tactics. Efforts to legislate against these practices have faced challenges, but conservative legal groups are taking action to address the issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2290306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1711027901909blob.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[5129,16444,34184],"class_list":["post-2290305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-left-wing","tag-nonprofit","tag-voter-data"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/1711027901909blob.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2290305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2290305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2290306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2290305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2290305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2290305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}