Americans for Prosperity Efforts to Register Voters in North Carolina

The Koch brothers' Americans for Prosperity group has shifted its effort to get-out-the-vote, in North Carolina.  But it looks more like keep-out-the-vote.  The group is behind a bunch of "incorrect" mailers, telling residents and a cat, how to register to vote.  Or rather, confusing them mightily about how to do it.

Hundreds of people who received the forms have called and complained to the State Board of Elections, said Joshua Lawson, a public information officer for the board.

“It’s unclear where Americans for Prosperity got their list, but it’s caused a lot of confusion for people in the state,” Lawson said.

One resident even received a voter registration form addressed to her cat, he said.

Adam C. Nicholson, a spokesman for Americans for Prosperity, declined to say how many people were sent the forms, how the group obtained the voter lists, or how the mistakes occurred.

Among the misinformation in the mailer:

- Two different deadlines for mailing registration applications.

- Instructions to return applications to the N.C. Secretary of State’s office, with a return envelope addressed to the State Board of Elections with the wrong zip code.

- Directing people to the Secretary of State for more information on registering, which that office does not provide.

- Giving the wrong phone number to the Secretary of State's office.

- Telling people their county clerk will inform them of their voting precinct, which county clerks don't do.

Lawson says that, as of now, no one is accusing the Kochs of deliberately misinforming voters on registration information to suppress the vote, which is a felony.

Yeah, sure they're not disseminating incorrect information on purpose.

It's not like they have unlimited resources to use to research how voter registration works in North Carolina and to inform voters.  Which they didn't do, also according to Lawson.  The Board works with political groups to avoid this kind of thing.  Americans for Prosperity didn't contact them.










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Michael H. Drucker
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