(Juneau) A number of Wisconsin residents are getting unsolicited voter registration forms in the mail with outdated or incorrect information on them, and the state elections commission is putting out an alert. Wisconsin Elections Commission Spokesperson Reid Magney says many of the mailers are coming from an organization called the Voter Participation Center, which tries to match voter databases to mailing lists.
“There’s commercial mailing lists all over that people can buy if they want to sell you stuff, and sometimes groups think that’s also a good way to reach voters or potential voters.”
Magney says the algorithms that the groups use are not perfect, which leads to poorly formatted registration forms being sent out.
“You know, is it North Third Street or Third Street North? Is there an apartment number or not an apartment number? Some of those things can trip up data matching programs.”
Magney says most of the time these are not malicious errors, but rather mix ups in data matching software.
“These groups are going to be trying to contact people, they’re trying to be helpful, sometimes they get the information wrong.”
Dodge County Clerk Karen Gibson says several local municipal clerks have gotten phone calls. She says the best way to find out if you’re registered to vote is to check online at https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/. Gibson reminds those registering to vote by mail to make sure they provide proof of residence with the form.
