Voting Anonymously

March 18, 2016 8:11 AM

As an adult I've often lived with friends, family, and roommates. Many times there are extreme political differences between me and these individuals, and those differences can lead to tension and homelessness. In other words I'm too poor to afford to have opinions so I keep my politics private. I'd like to know what information about my voting is publicly available and how to limit its dissemination. I live in Wisconsin.

One problem that I've encountered in the past is that I will get junk mail and other solicitations from political parties I've voted for in the mail. This, of course, advertises my politics to those I am living with. It also indicates that my voting records are not private.

I would like to know how to stop these kinds of giveaways. No mail, phonecalls, or home visits. I'd like my voting to be completely private if possible.

posted by anonymous to Law & Government (29 answers total)

You party registration is public record (so you may want to switch your registration to "independent.") The fact that you voted is public. Who you voted for is not public.

None of this will necessary cut off mail/phone calls from anyone already contacting you, and you'll presumably need to contact those organizations directly.
posted by Tomorrowful at 8:21 AM on March 18, 2016 [9 favorites]

What is publicly available is what political party you are a member of and whether you voted in a given election. It is also known which electoral petitions you signed to get candidates or referendums on the ballot. Finally, donations to candidates over $200 are available in public databases.

Political candidates are also exempt from the FCC do-not-call lists.

If you really want to cover your political tracks but still want to participate in the process, register as an Independent, don't vote in primaries (which would show which political party you participate in), don't sign ballot petitions, and keep political donations to less than $200
posted by deanc at 8:21 AM on March 18, 2016 [16 favorites]

Do you have the option of a PO Box? You can register your PO Box as your mailing address, while maintaining your home address as your residence. In addition, you can use this address for other mail (magazines, correspondence) that they would find objectionable.

If you can't afford the yearly box rent, do you have any friends with an address you can use?

Good luck. I would just joke around that you can't seem to get off the list somehow. "Ugh, junk mail, amirite?!"
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:21 AM on March 18, 2016 [5 favorites]

I am a poll worker in VT. Like WI we are an open primary state. Wisconsin does not register voters by party preference or affiliation. Which means when you register to vote you do not have to choose a party. The way you vote is absolutely private. However WI is an open primary state. So when you go to the polls and say "Give me a republican/democratic ballot" that information is public record (which is stupid, we have it in VT too but that is how it is). People who are sending you things in the mail are either doing so because you may have registered with a party in the past, voted for a party in the primary or they are making good guesses based on other demographic information about you. You can go to this page and see what information is part of the public voter rolls. People do have access to whether you voted in an election (see this page) but not how you voted. Also agreeing with the above, names on petitions are public, as are some donations. I have a PO box which keeps the junk mail out of my house. I do manage to get a lot of it for both (all) parties so I feel like there's some plausible deniability about why any one person might be getting junk mail.
posted by jessamyn at 8:24 AM on March 18, 2016 [7 favorites]

Who you voted for is not public information. Whether and where you voted is public information: you can see your voting history here.

The parties and candidates you've voted for don't know that -- but they may target their mailings and visits to precincts or zip codes that they think will be most likely to vote for them. They also target people who are listed as having voted, since that proves you're a likely voter (and therefore a good use of resources).

In the event you're a registered party member, that may also be public information -- but I don't see anything obvious on the WI voter info site about that.
posted by asperity at 8:24 AM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

Your voting record is private. Are you registered with a particular party? That information is public. You can re-register by filling out a new voter registration card indicating you are not declaring a party affiliation (get a voter registration form from the post office.)

This may not stop all solicitations since you're already on some lists, but it can help.

Yes. A PO box!

Totally just lie or laugh it off as junk mail.
posted by jbenben at 8:24 AM on March 18, 2016

In addition, if you qualify as a victim of domestic violence or stalking (or have a position as a prison guard or local judge) you may be able to exempt yourself from public records (making your voter registration private.) Who qualifies and what you have to do will vary by state.
posted by blnkfrnk at 8:24 AM on March 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

BTW, it's pretty common for political parties to just sent mail to any address where their records indicate a person in one of their preferred demographics lives. (Or just to all addresses in a given area, period.) Even if you think you're getting this mail for a more specific reason, you could try this explanation out on the people you live with.
posted by ostro at 8:25 AM on March 18, 2016 [2 favorites]

Your vote is really, truly anonymous. The things that are not are:
- Party registration, if you are registered as a Democrat or Republican or something else.
- List of elections you've voted in. This means if you voted in e.g. a Democratic primary that information is public (but not who you voted for).

Nobody, including the candidates, knows whether or not you voted for them - that is not the cause of you receiving mail from them. If you have a party registration or have ever signed up for an email list or given money or especially anything that had your address on it to any person or cause that might be correlated with the people you're getting mailings from, know that those lists are shared and sold like crazy.

But that said, your actual vote is 100% completely anonymous.
posted by brainmouse at 8:25 AM on March 18, 2016

The above advice is good. I would also add: don't give any non-financial support to candidates, either. Generally, when you indicate a desire to volunteer, or to put up a yard sign, or whatever, they'll enter your address in a database, and that database is often shared with the party, other candidates, etc. Eyebrows McGee had great comment a few months ago about that.

It's also the case, especially in local elections, that candidates will bulk-mail everyone in a particular district, even those unlikely to vote, or those who belong to a different party. So sometimes there's nothing you can do about it, although your roommates would presumably receive the same mailings.
posted by kevinbelt at 8:27 AM on March 18, 2016

Political parties and candidates also use a lot of other kinds of information to make their mailing lists, though - they may buy/share mailing lists with other organizations, so if you're a member of a local wildlife conservation group or the NRA or, I don't know, an LGBT punk collective they can sell/share your information with related organizations, though you can ask them not to.

If a friend-of-a-friend is running for local office or something, yeah, you might get on a mail/call/visit list just through word of mouth.

Big campaigns also use Big Data stuff, compiling lists from demographic and market research information (so, like, if you're 26 and went to College of X, you seem like a likely voter for the candidate for Party Y).
posted by mskyle at 8:28 AM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

An increasing number of political organizations are targeting people not just based on party affiliation, but on a lot of other demographic information. You've heard those stories about how Target knows women are pregnant before they do? Campaigns are doing the same sort of thing: "This person is a college-educated woman in her 30s who has never been married and votes a lot -- she's probably a Democrat, and she might be willing to donate. It's worth $1 to find out."

And, as noted, once you're on a list, good fuckin' luck in getting off it.

One piece of advice: sign up for mailing lists of candidates and organizations that you hate but that the people you live with like. Not only does it help obscure the ones they hate, but you're costing those objectionable organizations money.
posted by Etrigan at 8:30 AM on March 18, 2016 [9 favorites]

I think I'd approach it from the opposite angle. Sign up for everybody's mailing list. Closet Conservative? Sign up with the Democrats. Progressive? Let the NRA have your name. It's the least expensive option, and it'll keep your roomies guessing.
posted by Floydd at 8:31 AM on March 18, 2016 [7 favorites]

If you tell someone (i.e. a pollster) who you voted for that also is not private. I mean they won't publish it, but it could well be a political party doing the polling and they will keep track of who is leaning which way and how hard they're leaning. Or if a campaign worker calls or visits and you tell them that you intend to vote for them. Parties/candidates/campaigns use this info to keep lists of their supporters.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 8:36 AM on March 18, 2016

I get robocalled by Republicans all the time, and I couldn't be more obviously a Democrat if I had a big donkey tattooed on my forehead. I assume that the Republicans don't bother targeting and just robocall every likely voter. I think that to some extent, you just have to tell your roommates/ family/ whatever that you have no idea why you're getting the stupid junk mail and that it doesn't reflect your political views.

However, if you get called by Democrats, you absolutely should ask them politely not to contact you again because you're dependent on people who disagree with your political views and their contact jeopardizes your well-being. I can't promise you that it will work, because there are a lot of different lists floating around, and it's hard to get taken off of all of them. But there is a box to check on the call lists for "don't contact this person again," and I think they make some sort of effort to abide by it. We mostly use it for people who are so abusive that we don't want to subject other volunteers to them.

The other way to get taken off of lists is to figure out whose campaign is talking to you and then tell them that you definitely support the other candidate. They don't bother people who are definitely not voting for their candidate.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 8:51 AM on March 18, 2016 [1 favorite]

don't vote in primaries (which would show which political party you participate in)

if you voted in e.g. a Democratic primary that information is public

I don't think that's true in Wisconsin. Don't assume Wisconsin is like your state.

Your votes are always secret, so that can't be what's leading to this mail. You really have no idea why you're getting this mail. It could be because they have data that the majority of people who do X are Democrats, for instance. X isn't necessarily political; it's just correlated with being liberal. For instance, living in Madison, WI is correlated with being liberal, so a Democratic organization could sensibly focus on anyone who's ever lived in Madison, but not everyone in Madison is a liberal or a Democrat; some Madisonians are conservative Republicans, some are apolitical, etc. So you could make these points to your family members if they ever ask.
posted by John Cohen at 9:08 AM on March 18, 2016

An increasing number of political organizations are targeting people not just based on party affiliation, but on a lot of other demographic information. You've heard those stories about how Target knows women are pregnant before they do? Campaigns are doing the same sort of thing: "This person is a college-educated woman in her 30s who has never been married and votes a lot -- she's probably a Democrat, and she might be willing to donate. It's worth $1 to find out."

I remember in High School my dad got lots of mail from the Republicans for just this reason. He was a relatively well-off, middle-aged, businessman with magazine subscriptions to business publications, memberships in organizations that skew conservative, etc. On paper, he was probably a good prospect for them.
posted by Alluring Mouthbreather at 9:17 AM on March 18, 2016

It looks like you can see what information is publicly available from the state about you by entering your name and DoB into this web site: https://myvote.wi.gov/Home.aspx
posted by firechicago at 9:24 AM on March 18, 2016

"I am registered/voted as a Republicrat so I can pick the worst candidate in the primary for them to run in the general election."
posted by soelo at 9:34 AM on March 18, 2016

I didn't read properly-- since you're in Wisconsin, only those who have a paper trail that demonstrates they are victims of domestic violence/sexual abuse/stalking can apply as a "confidential elector." If this applies to you, it might solve some of your problems. Wisconsin does not appear to have a similar allowance for public figures or local government workers like some other states.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:11 AM on March 18, 2016

My father-in-law thought it was hilarious to sign us up for Republican Party mailings around the 2004 election. We're still getting them, as well as frequent solicitations from the NRA. So you could blame it on a mischievous friend or relative?
posted by vickyverky at 10:12 AM on March 18, 2016

> This, of course, advertises my politics to those I am living with.

For what it's worth, I get political mailings from all over the spectrum and I've always assumed I get them because I'm a registered voter, not because of how I voted. It really doesn't advertise your politics. Toss them in the recycling without a second thought. If a roommate asks, you shrug and say "I don't know, I must have got on some mailing list."
posted by tchemgrrl at 10:27 AM on March 18, 2016

I'm a poll worker in Wisconsin and am qualified to be the Chief Inspector of a polling place. Your ballot is 100% not linked to your name, and Wisconsin does not keep records of party affiliation. If you vote early/absentee, the poll worker who handles it may see it, though there are systems in place that attempt to mitigate that possibility and it would be tremendously inappropriate for them to tell anyone what they saw. As others have said though, the fact that you voted is public record, so the parties might make an educated guess about your leanings. Becoming a "confidential voter" is indeed a thing, but, as described earlier, it's for people who would be in danger if their name/address were made public. Your ballot is confidential regardless.

For the sake of maximum clarity, and because I hate the idea of you not voting because you're worried about this, I'll describe the three possible routes for a typical voter to cast a ballot in Wisconsin.

In-person absentee: This is where you go to your Clerk's office in the two weeks before the election (so starting next Monday) and cast an absentee ballot. You'll need a Voter ID and, if you're registering for the first time or have moved since you voted last, you'll need proof of your current residence (I'm happy to say more about this if anyone has questions but it gets lengthy to just out all the possible permutations so just MeMail me if you have s specific situation in mind). Once you're registered to vote and have shown your ID, you'll get a ballot and an envelope and be sent to a voting booth. You'll vote, then fold up the ballot and stick it in the envelope. They might have printed a label with your name and address, or you might have to write out your information. In any case, you'll then go back to the counter, seal the envelope in front of the Clerk/their staff, and then you'll both sign the envelope. They'll then put it in a secure location until election day. At that time, the sealed envelope will be transferred to your regular polling place. After it's checked in, a poll worker will open it with two other people's envelopes (if available), shuffle the ballots without looking, and then inspect it to make sure that the machine will be able to read it. If yes, they'll feed it in. If no (examples: you circled names instead of colouring in a circle, it's torn, you used gel pen, etc.), two poll workers will try to agree on your intent. If it's clear, they'll remake the ballot, label both ballots in case of a recount, and feed the new ballot in. If they can't agree on everything, they'll get the Chief Inspector involved, and if it still isn't clear (generally because multiple candidates/parties are selected but you only were allowed to vote for one), they'll mark what races they can figure out, leave everything else blank, and feed the ballot. Now your ballot is in a big pile with everyone else's, totally divorced from your name.

Mail-in absentee: a lot like above, except you mail a copy of your ID and then find your own witness.

In-person on election day: you go to your polling place, register if needed, then show ID and state your name and address. They find you in the poll book, or add you, and you sign by your name. They give you a number, which is also recorded by your name, and then at the next table you trade that number for a ballot. The number just helps then verify they haven't lost any ballots; it's not written on your ballot. You then vote and feed your ballot into the machine with everyone else's.

In Madison, the machines count the votes and then all of the ballots are sealed up in case of a recount. Other municipalities may do it slightly differently but the end result is the same: a big bag of ballots that are all identical except for the votes. If you literally write your own name on your ballot, someone might see it, but that's the only way anyone (besides maybe one poll worker, if yours is the only absentee) is going to know which one is yours unless you're literally the only voter in your ward, which is rather unlikely in most places.
posted by teremala at 10:30 AM on March 18, 2016 [12 favorites]

Solicit mailings from everyone. Complain to your roomies that you don't know why you're getting inundated with political mailings.
I suspect it's not the mailings that give you away, it's your inability or unwillingness to lie about them convincingly. Lie about it. It doesn't matter what you say, it's how you vote that counts.
posted by Omnomnom at 10:51 AM on March 18, 2016

Regarding partisan primaries: they're all on the same ballot, same process as I described. Explicitly choosing a party only means that if you then get confused and vote in all races, the poll workers will know which votes should "count".

Simplified example: you vote for Bernie and Trump in the primary, but you're only allowed to vote for one party. If you selected "Republican" on the ballot, the machine will automatically discard your vote for Bernie (this is an example of your intent being clear). If you did not choose a party, the machine will kick it back out. If you're voting in-person, the poll workers will patiently explain the problem based on the generic error message and let you try again. If you voted absentee, the poll workers sadly cast a blank ballot for you. Moral: if you really can't bring yourself to mark down the party you intend to vote in, please be very careful that you stick to just one set of candidates.
posted by teremala at 10:57 AM on March 18, 2016

I get a lot of mail that I suspect is based on mailing list sales and demographics ("she gave $20 to Planned Parenthood, let's hit her up for votes on X Y and Z and assume she wants to give money to the Abandoned Puppy Fund.")

Your vote is private, as detailed above, but your party affiliation registration isn't, your demographics aren't, and your charity most definitely isn't. Rather than try to wack-a-mole your public info, if you're really worried about this, it'd probably be easier to camouflage it by registering with a couple highly visible orgs from the other side, and then just shrug at the vagaries of junk mail if anyone asks.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:33 AM on March 18, 2016

Yeah, if anyone actually asked/commented just say you don't know why you are getting things.

I am a registered Democrat and make regular large (aka public) donation to Democratic candidates and causes, but I got a ton of Ben Carson stuff this election cycle. I really have no idea why.

Now, of course some people may not realize how random this stuff can be, but it really is.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:25 PM on March 18, 2016

"Oh, Jim, that card! I can't believe he actually signed me up for this. How do I get off?"
posted by corb at 5:50 PM on March 18, 2016

If you are having political arguments with housemates, so awful that it leads to your being kicked out (which I guess is what you're implying), perhaps you should stop having political arguments with housemates even if they want to have those arguments - and try to live in such a way that you are a very nice housemate to have around so that they like/love you despite political disagreements.

If you are getting mail from something truly far-out like the American Nazi Party, though, you are going to have to "own" that.
posted by sheldman at 6:00 AM on March 19, 2016