... the complainant appears to have alleged without evidence that [Americans for Prosperity] intentionally misled potential voters
In other words, North Carolina voter registration "information" riddled with mistakes isn't evidence that the Koch-associated AFP wanted to mislead and confuse as-yet-unregistered potential voters. How in the world could anyone suspect such a thing?
Sometime in September, bad voter registration information originated by the Kochtopus' favorite little operation, Americans for Prosperity, showed up in mailboxes in North Carolina. When the state Democratic Party learned of it, they filed a complaint with the state alleging criminal action to mislead voters there.
On the other hand, the AFP claims it was part of outreach conducted in multiple states. Hmmm. Really. It would be interesting to know which - all 35 where AFP says it has operations?
Here are four PDF documents courtesy of Blake Mizelle, blake.mizelle@gmail.com. I put them on Scribd. Blake wants people to read and share them; they are public information.
Mailer
https://www.scribd.com/...
Notice of Complaint
https://www.scribd.com/...
AFP 9/29 Letter
https://www.scribd.com/...
AFP 10/7 Letter
https://www.scribd.com/...
Here's the Oct. 7 response pasted as text. Amazing that AFP employs such inept operatives, if we choose to believe the lawyer's representation. To me it's also peculiar that they would target just 180,000 possibly unregistered people, when as far as I can determine NC has about 6.5 million voters already on the rolls out of a population of 9.5 million people.
What would be special about them? If they all registered they would increase the rolls by 2.6% statewide. Distributed equally around the state, randomly contacted, and if they wind up voting 50/50 for R versus D, I can't see how they would materially affect the election.
But if these 180,000 were concentrated in certain areas, thought they registered but found out it hadn't happened, it could indeed make a difference.
So it seems either the AFP targeted people who it believed were potential Tea Party voters and screwed up, or targeted potential Democrats with disinformation.
And another question: "AFPF utilized a template from a previous mailer sent out to potential new voters in Arkansas." Really? And when? Was that mailer error-free? I will note that the Arkansas mailer, whenever it was used, did not include a postage-paid envelope.
But "The mailers were sent in early-to-mid-September, and were not aimed or targeted to select or exclude any racial, ethnic or other lawfully protected classes or groups."
No one has any way to verify when they were sent, or whether this sentence refers to the large "national" campaign or just North Carolina.
Joan McCarter writes about problematic AFP registration mailers in Illinois here: http://www.dailykos.com/...
And well, duh. Your lawyer would never admit you're a fraudster, at least as long as you're paying his bills on time. As if AFP would turn over the NC mailing list they used to anyone independent for analysis of this claim.
Roger W. Knight, P. A.
8510 Six Forks Road, Suite 102
Raleigh, North Carolina 27615
Phone 919.518.8040
Fax 919.518.8060
October 7, 2014
Ms. Kim Westbrook Strach
Executive Director
North Carolina State Board of Elections P.O. Box 27255
Raleigh, NC 27611-7255
Re: Complaint filed September 29, 2014 by North Carolina Democratic Party
Dear Ms. Strach:
As we have discussed, this letter is the response of my client, Americans for Prosperity Foundation ("AFPF") to your letter dated September 30, 2014 and to the Complaint filed by the North Carolina Democratic Party. The information and positions presented here supplement our letter dated September 29, 2014, a copy of which is included hereto as Attachment A. That letter and your Notice of Complaint apparently crossed in the mail. AFPF is also attempting to answer the specific questions you posed to the best of its ability in the short time frame presented and in light of the NC Gen. Stat. Sec. 163-275(17).
While Americans for Prosperity Foundation is fully aware of the incorrect information provided on its North Carolina mailer, the errors were inadvertent and not included on the mailer intentionally as explained in AFPF's correspondence of September 29, 2014.
AFPF is a large organization with several hundred employees spread across 35 states. AFPF is currently conducting an internal review to determine the source or sources of the errors contained in the mailer and to determine the best way to ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in North Carolina or in any of the other states where AFPF actively operates.
Remedial Measures
AFPF is determined to clear up any misunderstanding caused by the mailers and to further encourage all North Carolinians to register and vote. Based upon the October 10,
2014 registration deadline, AFPF has determined that the best method available to reach the largest number of the recipients of the mailings is to run newspaper advertisements in the major daily newspapers throughout the State of North Carolina as soon as you grant approval for the copy and AFPF can place the insertion orders. There are two versions of the ads and both versions are attached hereto as Attachment B1 and Attachment B2.
Original Mailer: Content and Process
As noted in the September 29, 2014 letter, in order to craft the voter registration mailer, AFPF utilized a template from a previous mailer sent out to potential new voters in Arkansas. A copy of the Arkansas template is included as Attachment C. The North Carolina mailer was part of a large national voter registration drive with the intent to identify unregistered potential voters, and encourage and assist them to vote in the upcoming election. Far from being a plot to deter voting as the complainant alleges, the North Carolina mailer was a part of AFPF's nationwide effort to increase election participation and therefore the mailer does not meet the intent requirement of 163-275.17.
While AFPF's internal approval process vetted the mailer, it is clear that the review process missed certain information. AFPF regrets the mistakes but the original mailer, when taken as a whole, neither misleads the voting public nor discourages voter participation.
To be specific, the mailer listed both the correct "25 day" registration deadline for North Carolina, while it also carried over a "30 day" deadline as an artifact from the template Arkansas mailer. AFPF fully recognizes the importance of citizens knowing the correct deadlines to register to vote, which is why it offers to voluntarily undertake an extensive advertising campaign to reinforce that information. It is also true, however, that any citizen complying with the incorrect information would have been registered five (5) days before the actual statutory deadline.
Additionally, one place on the mailer directed individuals to contact the North Carolina Secretary of State with questions about voter registration, rather than your agency. While this agency name was again an artifact of the Arkansas mailer and reflected a different state's practices, the phone number and web site address AFPF provided on the mailing were in fact for the North Carolina State Board of Elections. Any person attempting to contact a state agency using the information provided by AFPF would directly reach the correct agency.
The mailer stated that when registered, voters would receive notice of their polling location from the county clerk, when in fact that information would come from the county board of elections. This misidentification of the applicable local government agency in no way affected any action required by the recipient.
Finally, the zip code listed on the mailer for your agency is not your agency's zip code- but rather a zip code established for AFPF by the United States Postal Service for immediate delivery to your agency. This was explained in some detail in the
correspondence from AFPF to your office from September 29, 2014. This is not an error at all, but rather the result of AFPF's determined effort to assist people in registering to vote by paying the cost for them to return the registration form.
The three mailers were sent to approximately 180,000 individuals in North Carolina who were identified by a vendor as being eligible but not yet registered voters. The mailers were sent in early-to-mid-September, and were not aimed or targeted to select or exclude any racial, ethnic or other lawfully protected classes or groups. The list produced was intended to allow AFPF to identify and contact large numbers of unregistered potential voters to encourage them to register and participate in the political process.
AFPF notes that at no time prior to the filing of the complaint did the complainant contact AFPF to notify the organization of its error. Rather the complainant appears to have alleged without evidence that AFPF intentionally misled potential voters, and engaged in activity to generate news stories implicating AFPF with a violation of law and then used the allegations to raise funds.
In closing, I wish to reiterate that the errors in the voter registration mailers were inadvertent and lacked the requisite intent and effect necessary to conclude or suggest a violation of NCGS §163-275(17). While AFPF will continue to work to mitigate any problems caused by the mailer, it remains my client's belief and understanding that recipients who complied with the instructions on our mailer have not experienced any problems in registering to vote, as evidenced by the more than 4,000 individuals who have used our pre-paid envelope to return the registration form AFPF provided.
Going forward AFPF will continue to implement additional safeguards to ensure that such errors do not recur in AFPF's ongoing efforts to encourage citizen engagement. We look forward to continuing to work with the State Board of Elections to address your concerns.
As next steps, my client would appreciate your review of the proposed newspaper ads at Attachment B. Please let me know if you have any edits or changes or if these meet with your approval. As soon as you notify us that these materials meet with your approval, AFPF staff will place the newspaper insertions as soon as possible.
Americans for Prosperity Foundation deeply regets any confusion or distress caused by its mailing, especially inasmuch as they have distracted from the important goal of increasing voting participation.
Roger W. Knight
Counsel to Americans for Prosperity Foundation
This does clear up part of the apparently wrong address on the prepaid reply. A special zip code to allow the postal service to tote up the charges for the 3,000-some sent in by Oct. 6 or 7.