CVF in the News

How your data is used to create the perfect midterm election ad

Here's what happens to your information after you fill out a voter registration form

By Marrian Zhou, CNET, November 1, 2018

Excerpt:

It's scary how much each candidate in the upcoming midterm elections knows about you. And it's all information you've willingly given up over time.

The trove of data goes beyond voter registration information like your name, home address and date of birth. Thanks to an army of data crunchers who marry that information with data you drop at a clothing or automobile site, many candidates often have intimate knowledge of who you are and whether you're likely to support them. 

The increasingly effective use of big data to create targeted political ads is one of the main causes for the climbing costs of running a campaign.

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Rejection of Mail-In Ballots Raises Alarm Ahead of Election

Mailed-in ballots provide convenience and are intended to boost turnout, but it's also easy for voters who use them to miss a step.

By Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press, October 30, 2018

Excerpt:

ATLANTA (AP) — Drawing on her years of military experience, Maureen Heard was careful to follow all the rules when she filled out an absentee ballot in 2016.

She read the instructions thoroughly, signed where she was supposed to, put the ballot in its envelope and dropped it off at at the clerk’s office in her New Hampshire town. She then left town so she could return to a temporary federal work assignment in Washington, D.C.

"I have learned over the years, many years in the military of filling out forms, how to fill out forms — and I was very intimidated by the process," said Heard, who served in the Air Force and was a lieutenant in the U.S. Coast Guard. "I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I have to make sure I get it absolutely right.' And then it didn't count."

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It Could Take Weeks to Find Out If Democrats Won the House

California and other key states take a very long time to count votes.

By Daniel Costa-Roberts, Mother Jones, October 30, 2018

Excerpt:

If you’ve been nervously counting down the days until the November 6 election, we’ve got some bad news for you: You might have to wait quite a bit longer before you know who will control the House. That’s because roughly a dozen key races are taking place in states where election officials often spend days or even weeks counting votes, making it difficult for media outlets to project the winners of close contests.

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California Voter Foundation Shares Tips On Final Day of Registration

Insight with Beth Ruyak, Capital Public Radio, October 22, 2018

Kim Alexander from the California Voter Foundation goes over the essential details and changes to the process on the final day of voter registration in California. (listen to segment) 

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The Debate About Debates: Should Candidates Be Compelled to Participate?

By Scott Shafer, KQED News San Francisco, October 10, 2018

Excerpt:

Currently, the terms of gubernatorial debates and whether or not they happen are largely dictated by the front-runner. Conventional wisdom says debates are more likely to help the challenger or the candidate who is behind in the polls.

It's true there were plenty of debates before the June primary, including a televised debate in San Jose with the six top-polling candidates for governor. But that's not the same as a one-on-one matchup, where it's harder to skate under the radar.

"The most important thing about debates is that it gets people on the record making commitments before they’re elected," said Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation. "It isn’t so much that every registered voter will watch the debate, but rather you have a public record of what they say they'll do if they win."

While debates might not increase voter turnout, at least they would help publicize the fact that an election is happening and who's running, Alexander said. (full story)

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How LA County is working to make voting faster, easier and more secure

By Saul Gonzalez, KCRW FM Los Angeles, October 4, 2018

Excerpt:

Retired high school teacher and Monrovia resident Stephen McCarthy is the kind of careful, consistent responsible voter get-out-the-vote activists dream about.

“I have never missed an election going back to when I had to stamp a paper ballot in 1972, and I have never missed an election since,” Murphy told KCRW recently.

So you can imagine how McCarthy felt, when on primary election day in June, workers at his local polling place told him that both his and his wife’s names weren’t on official voter rosters.

“I was appalled,” said McCarthy. “I was shocked. I was angry.”

McCarthy and his wife were allowed to vote using provisional ballots that get counted after the election, but it was a huge frustration for them. And the McCarthys weren’t the only voters having troubles on Election Day in June.

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After trial run, changes expected for California's vote-by-mail system

Elections officials try to correct initial problems with pilot program

By Mike Luery, KCRA TV Sacramento July 11, 2018

Excerpt:

Some California election officials announced Wednesday changes to correct the initial problems with the experimental vote-by-mail system used during the June primary.

Statewide, more than 7 million Californians -- 37.5 percent of California's registered voters -- voted in the June primary. Five counties -- Sacramento, Nevada, Napa, Madera and San Mateo -- used the new vote-by-mail system designed to improve participation. Of those only one, Nevada County, experienced a turnout above 50 percent during the primary.

The new system also created some voter confusion. 

Dozens of people eager to vote last month at McKinley Library in Sacramento were surprised to find the doors closed, according to voter watchdog, Kim Alexander, the president and founder of California Voter Foundation.

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Sacramento Is Ditching Polling Places For ‘Voter Centers.’ Will People Be Confused?

By Adhiti Bandlamudi, Capital Public Radio, June 5, 2018

Excerpt:

Sacramento County is switching to a “voter center” model for today’s election, but some people are concerned the change may confuse voters.

In the past, voters had to go to their specific precinct to vote in an election. Now, the county has adopted a new way, where people can go to any voting center to cast their ballot.

This model was tested in San Mateo County three years ago. Jim Irizarry, that county’s assistant chief elections officer, says the system was a tremendous success.

“It increased voter participation, it lowered election cost for the participating jurisdictions. It was an efficient election to administer,” Irizarry said. He added that the returns were processed quickly and they were able to determine the winner of the election clearly.

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'The pomp and circumstance of voting is missing.' Some are sad without Sacramento polling places

By Diana Lambert and Jordan Cutler-Tietjen, Sacramento Bee, June 5, 2018

Excerpt:

A line of voters stood Tuesday morning in front of the McKinley Library in East Sacramento waiting for it to open.

The library, a longtime polling place, has been relegated to a dropbox location as part of a new system approved by state legislators in 2016.

Unlike polling places or the new vote centers, dropbox locations are only open during regular office or business hours. Since McKinley Library doesn't open until noon on Tuesdays, that also meant voters couldn't drop off ballots until that hour.

"People are in the habit of voting the way they voted last time," said Kim Alexander, president and founder of the California Voter Foundation.

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In seconds, we faked our way into a political campaign, got unsecured voter data

Data analytics firm says this is normal: "It's the way that campaigns are run."

By Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, June 5, 2018

Excerpt:

On Tuesday, polls will be open to voters in eight states, including California, which holds gubernatorial primaries among many other national, state, and local elections.

Under California law (Section 2194 of the Election Code), voter data (name, address, phone, age, party affiliation) is supposed to be "confidential and shall not appear on any computer terminal... or other medium routinely available to the public."

However, there's a big exception to that law: this data can be made available to political campaigns, including companies that provide digital analysis services to campaigns. In other words, candidates and their contractors can get voter data, but there's little definition in the law about how those parties are required to be custodians of that data and how that data ought to be secured.

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