I do not know which is worse, getting mail from Chuck Norris, or finding out that it is a trap, inducing voter fraud by an unsuspecting citizen.
It starts out innocently enough when it says:
"You think you are ready to hunt because you've got the gear and the licenses. But you don't have the one thing you really need- A voter registration card."
It is not really that simple. While Chuck Norris encourages you to "Get tough- register to vote," the use of these forms raises questions about the tactics being used to circumvent voter registration laws.
Promoting voter registration has turned out to be a powerful and sometimes dangerous pastime. Increasing turnout can sway seemingly unrelated contests. This time, Chuck Norris, as Honorary Chairman, lends his image to the NRA Freedom Action Foundation "Trigger The Vote" campaign. It includes an authentic looking voter registration card, addressed to the Missouri Secretary of State in Jefferson City.
All you need to do is sign it, fold it shut, and put a stamp on it. Registering to vote has never been easier.
Of course, when signing, the submitter affirms that they "have reviewed my state's instructions" and that "the information I have provided is true to the best of my knowledge under penalty of perjury."
There are additionally several boxes which instruct the respondent to refer to the "instructions for your state."
The mailing includes no indication of where one might find state specific instructions. The sponsor's website (www.triggerthevote.org), does not include the instructions, rather one needs to go to the Missouri Secretary of State's website, and click through several screens, enabling pop-ups along the way, where the instructions can be found as a county-specific pdf document.
Is it fair to expect the recipients of these NRA sponsored mailings to find the instructions? Is it inducement to commit voter fraud?
At the very least, the Missouri Secretary of State should reject these applications unless provided with evidence that the submitters are not committing perjury by submitting them without reading the instructions.