Women's Voices, Women Votes: Operation Chaos in Primary States

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

Who is Women's Voices Women Vote, and why are they creating chaos when they say they just want to help voters?

The D.C.-based nonprofit, led by well-connected Washington operatives, claims in a press release they sent to Facing South that the North Carolina calls are part of a 24-state effort targeted at a list of 3 million voters, especially unmarried women. The robo-calls, which never mention Women's Voices, are followed by mailings that include information on how to register to vote. They plan to mail some 276,000 packets in North Carolina alone. - Facing South.

But since last November, in at least 11 states nationwide, Women's Voices -- sometimes working through its Voter Participation Center project -- has developed a checkered reputation, drawing rebukes from leading election officials and complaints from thousands of would-be voters as a result of their secretive tactics, deceptive mailings and calls, and penchant for skirting or violating the law.

For example:

Voter Outreach Effort Causes Confusion and Panic in Primary States

ABC News April 30, 2008

Officials in at Least Seven States Have Complained About the Group's Efforts
By AVNI PATEL April 30, 2008 A group responsible for misleading automated phone messages to North Carolina voters has drawn the attention and ire of state officials in at least seven other states. Women's Voices Women Vote, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit voter outreach group, says it has been active in 24 states trying to register unmarried women to vote. Mailings and phone calls from the group, however, have confused thousands of presidential primary voters and caused headaches for state election officials.

States of Chaos

Arizona In Arizona last November, election officials were "inundated with complaints" after Women's Voices sent a mailing erroneously claiming that recipients were "required" to mail back an enclosed voter registration form. Many who received the mailing were already registered; the mailing also gave the wrong registration date. Secretary of State Jan Brewer denounced the group's tactics as "misleading and deceptive."

http://www.azsos.gov/releases/2007/pressrelease22.htm?PrintMe=Y

Colorado. A similar mailing in Colorado that month " fire and caused confusion," according to a state press release. http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/pressrel/voter_registration_mailing_bypassed_11-15-07.html

Wisconsin. In Wisconsin, state officials singled out Women's Voices for misleading and possibly disenfranchising voters, stating in a press release : "One group in particular -- Women's Voices. Women Vote, of Washington, D.C. -- apparently ignored or disregarded state deadlines in seeking to register voters," sending in registrations past the January 30 deadline and causing "hundreds of Wisconsin voters who think they registered in advance" to actually not be. http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=13193&locid=47

Michigan officials ended up "fielding tons of calls from confused voters" after Women's Voices did a February mailing to "380,000 unmarried women" -- including numerous deceased voters and even more that were already registered. Sarah Johnson of Women's Voices "seemed confused by the confusion," the Lansing State Journal reported.
http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache:B8cdHbwqOAMJ:www.lansingstatejournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D2008802190329+%22Ill-conceived+voter+registration+drives+confuse+recipients%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us

Florida. A 1.5 million-piece Women's Voices mailing in Florida falsely stated: "To comply with state voting requirements, please return the enclosed application." Pasco County's elections supervisor called it "disingenuous"; another said it created "a lot of unnecessary panic on behalf of the voters," reported local newspapers.
http://66.218.69.11/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=%22To+comply+with+state+voting+requirements%2C+please+return+the+enclosed+application%22&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.tampabay.com/SearchForwardServlet.do%3FarticleId%3D426170&w=%22to+comply+with+state+voting+requirements+please+return+the+enclosed+application%22&d=BxP7tzWxQr0_&icp=1&.intl=us
Sarah Johnson of Women's Voice said, "I'm sorry to hear that."
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/21/pa-mailings-confuse-voters/

Arkansas By March, Women's Voices was backing off the erroneous "registration is required" language, but there were still problems. For example, a mailing in Arkansas allowed that "registering to vote is voluntary," but a clerk in Washington County reported that "the majority sent back to the county come from registered voters, causing needless labor for office employees."
http://www.nwarktimes.com/nwat/News/63400/

Louisiana Problems with the group's tactics have also been documented in Louisiana,
http://m.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/NEWS01/804020332/1001/NEWS&template=wapart

Kentucky
http://search.courier-journal.com/sp?aff=1100&skin=100&keywords=%22voter+participation+center%22&x=0&y=0

Grayson Issues Warning About Voter Registration
Jessica Noll 5/06
Secretary of State Trey Grayson issued a warning to Kentucky citizens that his office has learned that a voting group has sent thousands of potentially confusing mailings to women across Kentucky asking them to register to vote.
These mailings could cause confusion for Kentuckians because the deadline to register to vote in the upcoming May primary has already passed….The State Board of Elections has also heard from voters and from county clerks that WVWV have been sending automated calls encouraging people to register to vote which does not explicitly state that the voter registration deadline has passed for the May primary election.

http://www.kypost.com/content/news/commonwealth/story.aspx?content_id=4ed660a8-1927-41e6-8330-6387bcd9809a

Ohio. http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-bogus-nc.asp

Virginia. the Virginia State Police, which had investigated similar suspicious robo-calls before that Virginia's primaries last February.
http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-bogus-nc.asp

Their investigation concluded that the source of the calls was Women's Voices Women Vote
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/News/2008/news_release_02-08-08_NR-5.shtm

South Dakota. Secretary of State warns against bogus mailings
By Journal staff Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Secretary of State Chris Nelson is warning South Dakotans that a Boston organization called the "Voter Participation Project" is sending mailings into South Dakota, saying residents -- under "state law" -- must re-register to vote. The mailing lists the Secretary of State's address, adding the appearance of credibility.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/05/07/news/local/doc4821fb86d39e6122252733.txt#blogcomments

Above from Facing South http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/facing-south-exclusive-dc-nonprofit.asp

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next states getting mailings and or robo calls

The group's president Page Gardner, said that to clear up any further confusion, the group
"went to Herculean efforts" to stop the mailings in states that still have upcoming primaries.

The states are:

Kentucky – Primary Day: May 20, 2008.
Montana – Republican Presidential Preference Caucus: February 5, Democratic Primary: June 3, 2008
North Carolina—Primary Day: May 5, 2008 *WVWV is incorrect, primary day is May 6
Oregon – Primary Day: May 20, 2008
South Dakota – Primary Day: June 3, 2008
West Virginia – Republican Caucus: February 5, 2008, Democratic Primary: May 13, 2008.

http://www.wvwv.org/2008/5/6/women-s-voter-registration-group-responds-to-critics

[pansypoo53219]

1. luckily wi has same day registry.

might not have blocked many votes.

[EFerrari]

2. Do we know if the group targeting SD is the same group or just same tactic?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. the report from Wed doesn't give enough info:

It doesn't say in the article. I called their SOS yesterday, and he also did not know if there had
been robo calls or not. Here's the full text of the article which was dated Wed May 7, note that "Voter Participation Project" is part of WVWV:

Secretary of State Chris Nelson is warning South Dakotans that a Boston organization called the "Voter Participation Project" is sending mailings into South Dakota, saying residents -- under "state law" -- must re-register to vote. The mailing lists the Secretary of State's address, adding the appearance of credibility.

"The language in this mailing is not true," Nelson said. "This organization is misleading our citizens into thinking they need to fill out another voter registration form in order to vote."

Nelson said he has received a number of complaints about the mailings and that some of the mailings have gone to deceased South Dakotans. Others have targeted older citizens.

"My elderly mother received a mailing and was concerned that she needed to fill it out in order to vote," Nelson said.

He noted that voters aren't required to re-register when they move, but he does encourage the practice. Nelson said any voter wishing to view their registration status should go to www.sdsos.gov and click on the Voter Information Portal. The site shows where voters are registered, where polling places are and offers a sample ballot for the primary election.

#
I guess I will have to call the NAACP for South Dakota to see if they've gotten any reports.

[eridani]

3. Facing South has been doing a good job of tracking this year's offenses

However, we need more. There has been one reference to a nepotistic contract in 2006. Smelly, but it is of greater concern exactly how the husband's firm actually performed. Hankypanky? Minimal work for the money? Documented achievment of some metric? Can't tell one way or anotherfrom anything I've seen online so far.

What about the 2004 election?

It is entirely possible that the organization has been completely legit until this year. It would only take a single corrupted operations manager to turn it. We need to find out who this person is.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

7. 5/9 Facing south has question and answer with WVWV

http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/05/question-and-answer-with-womens-voices.asp

I don't know if WVWV existed in 2004.

They did robo calls in Ohio in Nov 2006 though, using fictitious male voice Lamont Williams.

[eridani]

8. Were the Ohio 2006 calls following the same pattern as the 2008 calls?

Clinton wasn't running at the time.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. calls were Nov 2007 before the General Election

that would have benefited people who don't want African Americans to vote.

[eridani]

11. 2007? Is that a typo? n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

15. No. From this story: "Voter Supression in Columbus? 11/04/07

I realize there are tons of links in the OP, and it gets tiresome clicking on so many. So here goes:

Voter Suppression in Columbus?

Buckeye State Blog Submitted by Jerid on Sun, 11/04/2007

Looks like voter suppression for Tuesday's elections may've started in Columbus. From an email from a reader:

I just got a weird robo-call that I suspect may be a form of voter
suppression, albeit kinda braindead. From memory, a stentorian voice
reminiscent of James Earl Jones says: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams.
In a few days you should be getting a voter registration form in the
mail. Please fill it out and return promptly and you will be able to
vote. Thank you."

Since the election is Tuesday, the message is nonsensical. Also, I
can't find any information on this Lamont Williams. The caller ID was
blocked ("unknown caller").

Just thought you might want to know, particularly if other people are
getting this phone call.

Certainly is a weird call. Any other BSB readers out there getting these types of calls. They could definitely be taken to try and trick people into waiting for forms, instead of voting on Tuesday. Sounds exactly like the sort of thing the GOP would need to do to make inroads against the massive defeat they're expected to suffer on Tuesday in Cbus.

If anyone gets one of these calls, please send me an email, post a comment and if you're able, grab the audio.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

5. May 8 South Dakota: Fake Voter Registration Hoax

Fake Voter Registration Hoax

By Caitlin Haedicke

Story Created: May 8, 2008 at 5:16 PM CDT

Some South Dakota residents have been receiving fake voter registration letters and our Secretary of State is warning you not to respond.

Some South Dakotans have received these deceptive letters in the mail telling them it's required by state law that they re-register to vote if they have changed their addresses. The mailing also lists the Secretary of State's address.

But Secretary of State Chris Nelson says the letters are untrue. He says people are encouraged to re-register if they move, but it isn't required by state law. The faulty mailings are coming from a Boston organization called "Voter Participation Project."

Nelson says people can check their voter registration status online by clicking onto the Voter Information Portal at www.Sdsos.Gov. The site will list an individual's polling place and the exact ballot they will receive for the June 3 primary election.

http://www.ksfy.com/news/local/18778844.html

Bogus letters mailed to S. Dakota voters
Associated Press
Published Friday, May 09, 2008
http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/articles/index.cfm?id=26645

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

6. Called WVA SOS just now.... said NASED has complained to EAC

the Natinal Assocation of Election Directors has complained to the EAC about
Women's Voices, Women Vote.

Many election officials, not all, across the country are aware of these mailings.

The mailings do not have the name of Women's Voices, Women Vote on the forms, but do
have them on the instructions. Sometimes they use the name "Voter Participation Project"
(which is a part of WVWV).

WVWV uses a federal registration from from the EAC, which they alter.
The EAC does not allow for this federal registration form to be altered though,
in fact when Arizona and Michigan wanted to use that form and alter it, they were not
allowed to do so.

[merkins]

10. K&R!

[eridani]

12. Googling Page Gardner and 2003

http://www.wvwvactionfund.org/docs/07memo_youngunmwomen.pdf

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=262148

Could this be a one-woman operation which did reasonable work until this year, when they decided to screw around with voters on Clinton's behalf?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

14. They were causing chaos in Nov 2007 in Ohio

so its not just this year, and we don't know how much chaos they have
caused before.

I heard but don't know (until our AG gets answers to its questions) that they
get their mailing lists from a mesh of subscription lists to ladies magazines and cross reference
them against voter rolls.

But then many states complain that most of the registration forms are going to
registered voters.

But one thing for sure, their BoD member's businesses make money regardless, since
WVWV uses their businesses to do much of the work.

There's alot of money going into this machine.

[mod mom]

13. Here's a PARTIAL response to questions from Page posted on Thurs at Kos (Worth Reading):

WVWV Responds To (Some) More Questions
by Adam B

Thu May 08, 2008 at 04:40:24 PM PDT

After my previous diary on the Women's Voices Women Vote robocall/voter confusion issues in which spokesperson Sarah Johnson responded to a series of questions, I was invited earlier this week to submit additional questions to WVWV President Page Gardner.

Ms. Gardner was able to answer some of my questions, but not all of them. As a lawyer myself, I am loath to draw any inference from any non-answers. Given the ongoing NC Attorney General investigation (PDF) and NAACP complaint, WVWV has every right to be cautious in what it says until it is confident it has determined what happened (among other reasons for restraint). So while I'll note the non-answers below, I'm going to confine my commentary afterwards to the substantive responses.
::
:: -snip

Reaction: I have tried to extend to WVWV the benefit of every doubt, but I have trouble accepting its answer to the first question. There's a difference between making registration available to people at public sites, versus anonymously contacting them in their homes and suggesting that they've been specifically identified as folks who need to take additional steps in order to register to vote.
This is especially the case with regards to the "Lamont Williams" calls to African American male voters. Unlike the VPC calls to married women which stated "Hi, just a reminder: your voter registration form is in the mail and on its way to you. Your voice counts, and your vote makes them listen. Sign it, date it, and send it in. Thanks," the calls to these men was much more insistent on the need to take action with phrases like "need to do" and "then you will be able": "All you need to do is fill it out, sign it, date and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard." Then, as in you can't yet.

Moreover, of course, WVWV was on actual notice that voters found the calls to be confusing, via the complaints and media articles in previous states. So on the whole I just don't find this explanation plausible.

-snip

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/8/19401/96448

[eridani]

16. I found the alternative explanation interesting

They may very well been trying to gin up numbers they could use to impress funders. The DK poster says that they did very good work in 2004, though. It isn't unheard of for successful non-profits to degenerate into iron rice bowls for a few of their employees, though.

[eridani]

17. We've been doing quite well around here for months not mentioning a certain other--

---"nonprofit" that isn't very responsible financially, so I won't start. Just saying that it pays to remember that there are many, many non-profits out there that sound good from the online or snailmail solicitations that you get, but may not spend your donations well. With everything getting tighter these days, it's a good idea to track groups that you donate to for performance on a regular basis.

[mod mom]

18. but in '04 they were assuming that Clinton would be the recipient of the Af Am vote.

It appears to me that times changes as did they mission.

[eridani]

19. True, but what would the advantage be of electing Kerry?

That would put the Clinton run off until 2012, no?

[EFerrari]

21. I can't believe I never saw that until now. n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

20. Does the "labor movement" know what WVWV is up to?

If I read this correctly, the labor movement is funding most of these non profit's work
in "registering" voters. WVWV among them. I also read that Obama urged people not to donate to
"outside" groups doing registration. Obama campaign sees WVWV as a voter supression org.

Back to front page »

March 17, 2008, 11:17 pm
A United Liberal Front
By Michael Luo

A coalition of liberal groups will coordinate $350 million worth of efforts to mobilize voters and advocate for candidates for the general election, its leaders are expected to announce Tuesday.
They are billing it as the largest such effort ever across the liberal spectrum.
MoveOn.org, labor groups like the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and Change to Win, and other organizations like Acorn, Women’s Voices Women Vote and the National Council of La Raza will be taking part in the effort for the presidential election and House and Senate races.

The announcement of the coalition will be made as about 3,000 people assemble this week in Washington for the fifth annual Take Back America conference. The gathering of liberal groups and activists — organized by the progressive organization Campaign for America’s Future — will also serve as an opportunity to coordinate strategy and to discuss tactics for the election in November.
Organized labor will supply the largest chunk of the coalition’s spending, with an estimated $200 million from the A.F.L.-C.I.O. and its affiliates and at least $100 million from Change to Win. The figures include what they will spend on voter turnout, as well as what their political action committees will give to candidates and independent groups to support the candidates’ messages.
It is difficult to compare the spending for this year with that of past years, because each organization had its own effort. But liberal leaders say they are coordinating in ways they have not done in the past, seeking to capitalize on record turnouts in the Democratic nominating contests this year. They are also keenly aware of the potential for splintering in the Democratic coalition as the nomination fight drags on.

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/a-united-liberal-front/

[eridani]

22. Not noticing any contact info for the coalition per se

If it ever appears, someone ought to notify them about what has been going on with WVWV.

[eridani]

23. It's looking as if this group was probably OK up until late 2007

Nepotism aside, they may have accomplished the goal of getting more single women registered. Their website lists a lot of 2004 accomplishments, but I have not seen another source confirm this yet. If the Clinton supporters on the board of WVWV wanted to temporarily divert their organizational resources away from their stated objective, why would they want to inform the Clinton campaign of this officially? Still, it would be a good gesture for their campaign to denounce this behavior.