POSSIBLY ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN OF UNSOURCED POSTCARDS
The Alaska Democrats far outperformed their usual absentee vote turnout, and some politicos wondered what they did to add 9,000 Democrat absentee ballots to the primary tally, when in the past Democrats have not made the effort to get those absentee ballots, preferring the “vote early” method.
There may have been several factors, but one is an unseen that is likely the efforts of a third party like the Lincoln Project. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of handwritten postcards landed in the mailboxes of Alaskans from people out of state, from Connecticut to Hawaii.
Many of the messages were similarly worded: “Vote for Al Gross for Senate”. “Vote for Alyse Galvin for House.” “They’re independent but they’ll caucus with the Democrats.” “They will fight for affordable health care.” “They’ll end the hatred in politics.” And they all gave the web addresses of the campaigns they supported as a way to get an absentee ballot. Many of them use the same postage stamp pattern.
But none of the messages indicated that the letter-writing was paid for by any entity. There was no legal disclaimer, as required by law, even though there is evidence of a coordinated campaign that spent money on stamps, and possibly paid postcard writers: How else would these random people around the country get the addresses of undeclared and Democrat voters?
What group coordinated the campaign is hard to tell, but the Lincoln Project has already said it is going to be active in trying to flip the Alaska U.S. House and Senate seats blue, and is one of the likely suspects.
The bigger reason the Democrats came out, however, is that Democrats are more afraid of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and are choosing to vote absentee in greater numbers, while Republicans are voting absentee in the same general pattern as they have in the past.
Eric S / September 3, 2020
The connection between an increase in absentee voting democrats escapes me. The post card shown with the article says nothing about how to vote. Later there is a statement that democrats are less inclined than republicans to vote in person. Correct. Many republicans think the virus is a hoax and thus there is no reason to change the old routines like voting in person. But to be sure that their President is re-elected, Republicans should vote both ways.
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Suzanne Downing (Author) / September 3, 2020
Eric, there are five postcards shown in this story, so re-read them and you’ll see. – sd
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Whitney / September 7, 2020
Suzanne, there are 4 postcards showing what is written on them. The 5th shows only a zip code. Re-read them and you’ll see.
Your readers deserve better.
-wb
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Suzanne Downing (Author) / September 7, 2020
Whitney, thank you for the kind suggestion. They were representative, not meant to illustrate the complete set. – sd
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Older Than Alaska / September 3, 2020
The virus is real, the hype is a hoax. We are seeing an unprecedented power grab.
Quick, how many deaths, from Covid? Not deaths from other causes but the deceased had the virus. I know about 3 people who have suffered this disease, all fine and recovered.
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Greg Forkner / September 4, 2020
Come on down here to Florida and I’ll introduce you to 200 people a day who are stacked up in a refrigerator tractor trailer waiting for burial.
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Leah / September 16, 2020
A death from COVID is still a death from COVID. Someone can have well-controlled diabetes or heart disease that wouldn’t kill them anytime soon. However, with COVID added on, they then die. That’s still a death from COVID.
Even if we don’t even look at official COVID death counts, the US is up over 200,000 from expected normal deaths per year. Stats are kept carefully, and there really is about a standard number of people who die yearly. And we are way above that, between COVID, less access to care, more overdoses, and more suicides.
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Marlin Savage / September 4, 2020
All five mention an individual’s name who is on the ballot. Read each carefully…..
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Sam Williams / September 4, 2020
Good stuff…I’m a registered dem and have received quite a few of these. I requested my absentee ballot via an official Dr. Al Gross mailer. When I saw that i needed a witness for the ballot, i decided to just go vote in person. I will probably do the same for the general.
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Scott Rees / September 4, 2020
I am on the Democrat mailing list via email and I cannot got two days without a message warning me of the dangers to my health voting in person and how Trump wants to endanger our nation by, among ANY thing he says or does, limit our mail in voting rights.
It’s been quite enlightening to be on the list. Main goal of Dems: “Increase opportunity for all Americans and protect individual rights and safety.” Naw, just kidding. EVERY email’s explicit goal: “Defeat Trump.” I am sure if they do, then they will get busy on the business of making America, uh, great. We just have to elect Biden to find out how they will expand on their goals of just defeating Trump. Kind of like passing the Affordable Health Care act to see what is really in it…
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Leah / September 16, 2020
Biden has multiple clearly laid out policy documents on his website. I agree that a lot of the emails from *both* sides use shock and awe tactics (my local Republican reps/senators certainly do, and I’ve also seen the same in mailings from Trump).
I ignore the emails. I go look at platforms, policy statements, etc. Biden’s info is much more clearly laid out than is Trump’s.
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Scott Rees / September 16, 2020
Just curious, has Biden been clear on his position on burning down cities, looting, and defunding police yet? It seems that would be something to be solid on a month or two into the “protest season” starting five months ago.
I just haven’t seen a Biden’s info on that laid out for all to see. I’d say Trump has been rather transparent on his opinion on burning, violence, and looting.
To be fair, when I was looking over Biden’s policies, most are about getting folks (even folks unlawfully here) free stuff – health care, education, housing, federal minimum wage mandates, and of course, condemning Trump, with an emphasis on being for the middle class. But no condemning the recent destruction. It seems rather quiet for something that has truly affected the middle class in those Democrat run cities.
Just an observation.
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Lynn Carr / September 4, 2020
I have been writing postcards urging Democratic Voters in other states to sign up for Vote By Mail. I have paid for the postcards and postage myself. I have hand written my postcards and added stickers and loads of colored ink. There is absolutely no requirement for me to register or have a legal disclaimer. It is very easy and free to names and addresses of Democratic voters across the country– didn’t you know?
I think it is sad that Incumbents can use tax payer funding to create so-called newsletters which are actually campaign mailers. It is also pathetic that the President use the White House for his RNC speeches and set-up videos for his campaign. I think he should have to repay the government for all those campaign flights he takes on Air Force 1. And how about that mailer the government did claiming Trump sent us each Stimulus Money? He did NO SUCH THINK. Republicans would have jumped thru their skins if Obama had of used taxpayer funds to let us each know that he had killed Bin Laden for us!
Meanwhile, you take issue with me sending postcards urging people to use Vote My Mail, a legal way to vote easily and safely. You can stuff it!
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Melinda Bryant / September 5, 2020
Thank you Lynn Carr. I am doing the same thing. No where does it say I need a disclaimer to urge other people to vote! No one’s getting paid. I donate my time and the supplies. It’s a shame some people are so afraid of people voting! That’s how it seems to me, at any rate. Some really don’t want the country fully engaged — might cause our representatives to actually earn those public funded paychecks!
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Melinda Bryant / September 5, 2020
*I meant they would have to earn their paychecks. They’d have to actually do the work instead of give their lip service!
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Greg Forkner / September 5, 2020
We jumped through our skin lots with Obama. That’s why we elected Trump.
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Wildlupine / September 5, 2020
Actually, Lynn, Obama used Air Force One excessively during his first term for his non-stop campaigning. The man was constantly in campaign mode. I think he should pay back the government for his excessive use of Air Force One, especially for those outrageously extravagant vacations he and his sour wife felt they deserved. As for the vote by mail issue, it is well known why you democrat facists are so desperate for it that you are spending personal funds to encourage it. It’s all about voter fraud, because you know that’s the only way demos can win this election.
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Donewithred / September 7, 2020
Oh, that is rich. Complaining about Obama’s vacations. Unbelievable.
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Marty / September 18, 2020
democratic fascists? i thought we were communists. make up your mind.
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Becky Olsen / September 5, 2020
What’s the problem in encouraging people to vote the easiest way possible for them? Sounds like you’re encouraging voter suppression.
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Maria Hughes / September 5, 2020
I am one of many who have written hundreds postcards to voters across this country. I pay for the postcards and stamps out of my own pocket. And I hand write every single one. It takes a lot of time but I think it is worth every minute to let people know that they have legal right to vote safely by mail.
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Darlene Garvais / September 5, 2020
I wrote 25 of these postcards. I have family in Alaska since 1966. I was raised there and am still very connected. I did this on my own time, even though I work FT (non-political) I paid my own money and used my own stamps. By the way, that is the only postcard stamp pattern currently available. Actually, I also used five forever stamps at a higher cost when I ran out of postcard stamps. It was worth it to me. I encouraged several friends to join me and they each wrote a bunch at their own expense, on their own time. Tell me why I can’t do this?
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Shirley / September 5, 2020
My family moved away from Alaska over a year ago after living there from 2012 to 2019. We were registered voters. My husband recently received a notice encouraging him to apply for an absentee ballot. It was not forwarded from our old address. It was addressed to our new home address in the lower 48. Today I logged onto Facebook. My location still shows Anchorage, AK because I just haven’t bothered to change it since we moved. There was a big splash at the top of the page with my name encouraging me to get my absentee ballot from Alaska. We also lived in Alaska from 2007 to 2011 and moved away, but the state of Alaska did not seek us out as voters. The big problem for the state has always been people moving away but still fraudulently applying for their PFD. There is obvious hanky panky going on with pushing mail in voting to people who they know do not live there any longer. And I’m just guessing but I’d bet if I mailed in a vote for a democrat, it would be counted without question. If I mailed in a vote for a republican it would go in the trash.
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Casey / September 5, 2020
Shirley, There are plenty of people who temporarily reside away from their permanent residence (that’s why we have absentee ballots) so I doubt there was any hanky-panky intended. The state validates your eligibility before sending out a ballot. As an example, Trump fraudulently attempted to get a vote by mail ballot in Florida before he changed his permanent residence to Mar-A-Lago, and his application was rejected. Once he decided to follow the law and legally changed his residency to FL, he was able to get a mail-in ballot.
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Kimberley Lovato / September 5, 2020
A big splash at the top of a Facebook page is called, wait for it, an advertisement. They show up everywhere based on sophisticated algorithms installed by Facebook. Since you admit you haven’t changed your address on Facebook from Alaska to your new state, it should be no surprise that you get ads targeting you as an Alaskan. I’d be worried otherwise. Facebook is not connected to elections. It’s a money making business that sells advertising like any other business.. As for mail in voting — it’s ludicrous to think election officials are risking their reputations and the election tildes by sabotaging voters. Other than your opinion, there is zero proof. . That’s assuming the worst in election officials who represent both parties. Some critics of the process , including t-Rump on several ocaasions, have cast doubt on the integrity of mail-in voting, even when they vote by mail themselves.. millions do. Our military does. Expats do. The reality is there is very little voter fraud period and less in vote by mail. There are plenty of evidenced investigations if you’d like to educate yourself beyond the KoolAide counter. When fraud does occur, election administrators identify it and take action, correcting election returns and prosecuting those responsible. That’s what happened in North Carolina in 2018, when a Republican political activist paid others to collect incomplete absentee ballots so they could be filled out to vote for the Republican candidate. The activist was arrested, charged and convicted — and the entire election was invalidated and run again.
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Robert Alan Groves / September 5, 2020
Have you changed your voter registration to your new state in the lower 48?
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Carole Cornell / September 5, 2020
I am also a volunteer sending postcards to voters in Alaska and other states. I am so concerned about the possibility of 4 more years of trump and his rubber stamp Senate that I am spending MY OWN MONEY to buy the postcards and stamps out of my limited retiree income.
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Pat Christian / September 7, 2020
Non-stop campaigning by Obama? Are you serious? Trump literally -and legally – began running for reelection the day after he was inaugurated. Every single thing he has done in office is out of a desire to be reelected. He does nothing to help ordinary Americans, it is all for show, and often underhanded, sleazy, and illegal.
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Brian / September 7, 2020
Volunteers spend their own money and time writing postcards to urge members of their own political party to vote in the upcoming election. That’s what’s happening. If you have a problem with that, maybe you don’t like democracy.
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Eamonn / September 14, 2020
I pay for my postcards out of my pocket, I volunteer my time to write them, and nobody is paying me. I don’t need to put in a legal disclaimer to ask someone to vote, the First Amendment still applies no matter how much Conservatives attack it. This campaign is 100% legal and you know it. If you have a problem with living in a democracy, move to the other side of the Bering Strait.
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Suzanne Downing (Author) / September 14, 2020
That is so nice. Can you tell us who provides you the list that you use to write to Alaskans? What is the name of the group helping you? – sd
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Eamonn Gormley / September 15, 2020
No thanks. I’m sure you’ll figure it out if this is really important to you.
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Scott Rees / September 17, 2020
Eamon had the chance to show kindness and transparency, if anything, to reveal how the Democrats really do want honesty.
But, she just couldn’t do it.
Odd.
But maybe predictable.
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Marty / September 18, 2020
Voter rolls are public and available to anyone that asks.
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Suzanne Downing (Author) / September 18, 2020
Marty, you are suggesting that these random postcard writers from around America all wrote to the Division of Elections, paid the $20 fee, and had the disc mailed to them, and then sorted through the list and found the undeclared voters that were most likely to vote for Galvin and Gross, and then somehow did not have their postcard address list overlap with the hundreds of other postcard writers who had done the exact same thing. So clever they are! – sd
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