Hi there—I wanted to make sure you saw Maria's urgent message from the other day.
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Dear MoveOn member,
In an election too close to call that could determine control of the U.S. Senate, ABC News reports that hundreds of thousands of voters have received grossly incorrect voter registration information in the mail from the Koch brothers' right-wing front group, Americans for Prosperity.1
Here's just some of what's in the mailing:
- The wrong deadline for registering to vote—cutting the registration window short by five days, critical for working families.
- The wrong office for questions on voter registration and the wrong zip code for turning in a voter registration form.
- False information about how voters will be notified of their precinct after they register to vote.2
Can you chip in $3 to help us launch an emergency, rapid-response campaign to stop North Carolina's Senate seat from being stolen?
Yes, I'll chip in to fight back against this outrageous mailing.
If we don't fight back now, this mailing could tip the scales in North Carolina—one of the handful of states that will decide if Republicans take control of the Senate. We can't let them get away with it.
At best, this is an egregious oversight that could mean thousands of eligible voters not registering to vote. At worst, it's a cynical move by a right-wing organization to disenfranchise Democratic voters and steal a Senate seat—and maybe even control of the entire U.S. Senate. In either scenario, it demands a response.
Our team spun into action as soon as this news broke, putting in motion possible legal action and contacting MoveOn members in North Carolina who may have received this mailing.
Now, we need your support if we're going to fight this injustice, set the record straight, and hold accountable the people responsible for deceiving voters.
Can you chip in $3 to help fight back?
Yes, I'll help educate voters and hold the people who sent this mailing accountable.
AFP's North Carolina director called the bad information his organization mailed out "non-substantive" and "minor administrative errors."4,5 So-called "minor errors"—that could disenfranchise thousands of people!
Whatever the story behind the faulty voter registration forms, the fact remains that there are likely hundreds of thousands of potential voters being handed false information about voting less than six weeks before a major election.
With sufficient funds, here's what we'll do to fight back:
- We'll get ads on the radio and in community newspapers to give voters the correct information wherever the deceitful mailings were reported.
- We'll prepare for possible legal action to hold the Koch-funded perpetrators accountable. If voter registration information is intentionally misleading and is found to discourage voters, providing that information could be a felony.
- We'll organize MoveOn's awesome volunteers to call voters in North Carolina to make sure they understand the stakes of this election and have access to accurate information.
- And we'll support voters in making their voices heard—to make this maneuver backfire. In 2012, when Republicans passed laws that turned voting into an obstacle course, some of the most affected communities—African Americans and Latinos—voted in greater numbers than in 2008, before voter suppression had become such a popular GOP tactic.6
We expect this campaign to cost around $80,000—and more if it becomes a legal battle. We expected we'd be fighting voter suppression this election season, and budgeted accordingly—but we never expected something this outrageous. That's why we're asking for your help right now.
Can you chip in $3 to help stop Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers, and the GOP from stealing the election?
Yes, I'll chip in to make sure this Senate seat isn't being stolen through dirty tricks.
Thanks for all you do.
–Maria, Victoria, Jo, Brian, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Some North Carolina residents mailed incorrect voter registration information, ABC 11 Eyewitness News, September 26, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300995&id=102232-10220574-elXYigx&t=1
2. "NC residents mailed incorrect voter registration information," The Raleigh News & Observer, September 25, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300991&id=102232-10220574-elXYigx&t=3
3. "AFP says administrative errors behind mistakes in voter registration forms," The Raleigh News & Observer, September 26, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300992&id=102232-10220574-elXYigx&t=4
4. Ibid.
5. "A Conservative Group Sent Voter Registration Information to a Cat," Time, September 26, 2014
https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/
6. "How the GOP's War on Voting Backfired," The Nation, November 8, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=300993&id=102232-10220574-elXYigx&t=5
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