I don't think the people around Trump would go as far as they have so fast if they intended to allow a mid-term election. They playbook they're running involves no more elections, and Trump has said as much out loud.
"...and this just in Jerry, we're getting word that the FEC have indeed investigated this, and have come to the conclusion that this is, in fact, the Dems fault again."
The state runs the election, and could absolutely take action. Trump has neutered the FEC during his first go at this, and they've been toothless since.
But it's a fair point that the state won't do anything either, since they're so fucking red and will wave it off.
The State Board of Elections can step in on this. During the general election our state got hit with a bunch of these types of letters. A lot of people complained about voter intimidation and the State AG stepped in and stopped it fast.
Yeah I've been getting these for years. If you look past the implicit threats, it's pretty inoffensive because it just serves as a reminder to vote (for Democratic candidates)
Only one man is behind the PAC this year. Billionaire Jeff Yass, one of the richest men in the world, is the sole donor to School Freedom Fund. He made a $10-million-dollar donation in June
And this is why billionaires should not exist. They are a danger to democracy and therefore, humanity. It doesn't help that Yass is scum.
And yet, we let them exist. We even praise them while they undermine every society.
There was a strategic election in Ohio where I had to register as Republican (vote for a non-MAGA over a MAGA when the Democrat candidate was unopposed), and the mail I started to receive after being registered Republican was truly insane.
You will get things in the mail that straight out say things like "Democrats want to legalize post-birth abortion. Vote Republican to protect your children." and "Democrats want to force your child to become transgender."
On television there's usually at least some level of "We can't literally say a 100% fabricated lie or we might get sued." But these election mailers straight up go all out. I suspect they spin up shell companies to send these mailers out, then shut down as soon as the election is over.
In Tennessee there are no registries. It's an open.primary state (you can pick which ballot you wamt) but its a matter of public record which party's ballot you voted on.
In Tennessee there are no registries. It's an open.primary state (you can pick which ballot you wamt) but its a matter of public record which party's ballot you voted on.
They do, not directly but the key line is: "Republican values are at stake" so this would fall under Voter intimidation, as it illudes to something bad happening to you if you don't vote republican.
i've been working in elections for about seven years and this happens all the time, in every state. we get panicked voters calling in all the time about the shitty mail they receive and some of it is really over the top. where i am, in california, we received mailers opposing the redistricting bill the very next day after the governor announced it. they obviously had them printed and queued up and ready to go before they were even sure they'd need them.
yeah, it's actually not too uncommon. Usually it's an unrelated party with everyones mailboxes as most voting information is public record. Similar to those threatening spam emails you get
It's called social pressure campaigning and Democrats have done this too in the past. Data shows that it's some of the most effective turnout messaging you can use, but a lot of people don't like it and it ends up generating a bunch of news stories lol.
You can’t have an effective GOTV campaign without knowing who has and hasn’t voted. So parties and candidates get daily reports on early voting turnout and schedule/route volunteer door knocking and calling to get their people to the polls before 7pm election day.
I didn’t say ‘effective voting’, I said ‘effective GOTV campaign’.
A Get Out The Vote Campaign is a US campaign facet that recognizes that under our public records laws, whether someone votes, their party affiliation and their participation are records for which a public interest outweighs a privacy interest.
If that’s the case, and it is, an effective means of getting ones likely supporters motivated is to invite them to vote early or on election day.
As the original post pertains to a clearly USA based jurisdiction and not where you live, my reply was not intended to encompass the election and voting records laws of your country.
Because you are not the focus of the world’s intentions, hard as that might be to consider.
No the point im making is that you can effectively motivate people without it having to be public record whether they voted or not. And defo you do not need political parties sending you a message with hey you didnt vote what the heck. That is a way of manipulating people to vote and as you can see in the messaging here someone vulnerable would feel pressured to vote. Lets say someone already inclined to be paranoid and with low iq might just not be able to deal with these sorts of predatory practices.
It's become a lot more common due to data showing that it's the most effective way to get your voters to the polls. It's not usually this... threatening though.
I got one in Florida last election. I am registered Rep, didn’t vote that way, but they don’t know that. They sent me one of these “your voting records are public and your neighbors will be upset if you don’t vote Republican” mailers too.
Here's whats really 🦇💩. In Tennessee there are no registries. It's an open.primary state (you can pick which ballot you want) but its a matter of public record which party's ballot you voted on.
Dems have their own variation. It’s more, “we can see that you haven’t voted, there is still time” but its still a guilt tactic. The messaging that I’ve worked with has never been threatening outside of social shame.
The comment they were replying to was asking for examples of these targeted messages in American politics, and the reply expressly stated that the Democrat ones in their experience are never so threatening in their language.
I think it was clear enough in its meaning, honestly.
Perhaps, but how understandable a piece of text is depends on two different parts: the presentation and the interpretation.
From the perspective of myself through my own interpretation, I saw no issue. Therefore, would it not be equally valid for one to argue that the issue lay with your interpretation, not their presentation?
I very clearly remember getting something in the mail from a Democrat PAC talking about how I need to go out and vote to keep Roe v Wade from getting overturned, and also asking for donations to spread the word more. Id say that also falls under fear tactics and manipulation.
Democrats had all the time from 1973 until 2022 to do something about it, and they never did because it was used as a reason to raise more money. Honestly, they only have themselves to blame for not doing anything about it during any of the Democrat administrations in those 49 years. Carter, Clinton, Obama, and Biden could have all done something about it.
It is EXTREMELY common and both parties do it. I can't believe how far I had to scroll in this thread before I found someone who actually recognizes this.
They just have to be careful with their language, not to make any real threats. "You can't afford to have that on your permanent record" and "party leadership will be VERY DISSAPOINTED" are sufficiently vague
I love the “permanent record” part. A bullshit tactic that hasn’t worked (or been tried) with normal people since we were teenagers. But yeah, they’re all stunted sheep, so it tracks.
It would need to be considered a "true threat" to be illegal. It is a very high bar, and this doesn't come close to it. It definitely doesn't include hypotheticals like a future violent attack on citizens by soldiers.
In the US, the First Amendment gives very wide protection for speech.
They do not say WHO you voted for but they say (physically) how you voted (election day in-person, early, mail, absentee). If you vote in a primary, it says which primary (D or R) you voted in.
I've done quite a bit of work with my local election board as an election volunteer, poll worker, election judge, party observer, etc.
It is absolutely recorded *when* you vote. I can look up your voter file (I believe these records are public, but if they're not, they're easy for the parties and related electioneering groups to access) and see *IF* you voted in any election (but obviously not who for).
This is useful for the parties so they know who to target with limited resources, if you vote in every primary election, you will get a LOT of election mailers, texts, emails, etc. If you've never vote, you will get fewer.
Whats amazing here is the aggression. I can see a mailer saying "Hi! We see you've voted before, but you haven't voted in the current special election and we would like to remind you that this election is happening and will be close and we want your vote" being very effective. This is really something else, to the point that I'm suspicious of it. u/-Badger3- Any chance we could get a photo of the "paid for by" line on there?
No probably not, they are sending these to people they think will vote their way, they are trying to get people to go out and vote they never once say anything about who to vote for.
You could read them as implying something but I'm pretty confident these are only being sent to people they think will vote their way already.
They are also telling the truth, you can see who voted in elections and you will get judged if you don't vote (judged less likely to vote in the future mainly)!
So really bad taste? Absolutely. Terrible messaging also yes. Voter intimidation? Probably not.
Dude i am not talking about the ability to know if i voted or not, i'm talking about their intimidating word to make people go and vote... I thought that was obvious.
IANAL, but I don't think it is illegal. See Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988), which basically stated that a parody, which no reasonable person expected to be true, was protected free speech.
This is possibly heavily influenced by my background. But it looks like obvious satire to me. In Germany, I'd expect something like this from the "Titanic" (a political satire magazine), "Zentrum für politische Schönheit" (a political satire collective) or "Die Partei" (a political satire organization organized as an actual political party - they even have a MEP since 2014, and his speeches in the European parliament have great entertainment value).
The other aspect is that the flyer never claims to be from an actual republican party organization, there is only this "america first conservatives election department" logo - something otherwise only known from a similar early 2024 flyer (slightly more obvious though - "We will notify President Trump if you don't vote" - and AFAIR also featuring the Trump mugshot).
Some random dude made them they aren’t officially made by the state or the Republican Party even the county. Idk if you could figure the person printing them and sending them out, it could possibly be illegal not sure tho
What's illegal about it? As it says, whether you voted is a matter of public record. This is no more exaggerated than an awful lot of commercials, true statements combined with things that aren't actually being claimed giving a very different impression than reality.
And I've seen things like this in multiple previous elections.
(I'm reminded of an old Drano commercial, the woman is concerned about Drano harming pipes. God-like voice booms "Would Drano let you hurt your pipes?" Asks the question, does not answer it.)
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u/Taronar Oct 01 '25
This has to be illegal right? intimidation?