Posted on 10/20/2014 11:29:06 AM PDT by Citizen Zed
DECATUR – It's not uncommon for residents such as Maryilynn Baer to receive political mail before the general election. But when recent letter came to her home that asked for her husband, Edgar, to re-register to vote before the November election, Baer was overwhelmed and upset. Her husband had been dead since May.
“It was upsetting,” she said. “His name had already been taken off the voter registration list, and I sent the letter to (Macon County Clerk) Steve Bean and told him I had already notified him that Edgar had passed away.”
But the letter did not come from Bean. In fact, residents across the state have received similar letters that are seemingly sent from their local officials asking them to re- register to vote, with return postage listing the local county clerk's name and address. The letters are actually being sent by the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, one of the largest conservative groups in the country.
Bean said he and clerks from across the state have received numerous complaints from residents, saying their deceased loved ones have received the letters.
“The letters are made to look as though we're sending them out, and I've received calls and letters asking me why I'm bringing back these painful times,” Bean said.
David From, director of the Illinois branch of the group, said the group gets its information from 'available data' on names and addresses of possible registered voters. He said the organization looks at the mailers as a "long-term" way to get people involved in the political discussion and remind them of the upcoming elections.
While they do the best they can to send forms to people they believe are alive and eligible to vote, From said it is not a perfect system and sometimes errors are made.
"We don't want people to have to see the names of lost loved ones," he said. "Not only is that an issue for obvious reasons, but it's also inefficient to send these forms to those who cannot vote or participate in the political discussion."
The group has 34 state chapters and affiliates and recently made news after mailing North Carolina residents forms with incorrect and conflicting information on registration and the election. In addition, forms went out addressed to deceased residents and, in one case, a cat. While there did not appear to be anything misleading on the forms sent to Illinois residents, Shelby County Clerk Jessica Fox said she has apologized to residents and has tried to make clear it is not her office that has sent the forms.
“We would never do anything, for lack of a better term, as tacky as to open up these old wounds,” Fox said.
One question the clerks were unable to answer is how the group received the list of registered voters or decided to whom they would send the letters.
Baer said she hopes they use better judgment in the future.
“If they got these names, they should know his name was taken off voter registration list for a reason.”
We are still getting mail for my deceased Father In Law and he’s been gone 8 years and we moved to a different state.
And if they were democrats, they’d get letters back!
Best thing to do is use the return envelop (with postage already bulk paid) and send it back to them. It costs them postage and sooner or later, they stop.
This is a f&^#^&% news story?
Give me a break.
Apparently only democrats can communicate with dead voters.
Those will come back registered as Democrats
Everyone knows that dead people only vote for Democrats
A voter id is a terrible thing to waste.
“Apparently only democrats can communicate with dead voters.”
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Not only successfully communicate, but also animate them to vote...and always vote a straight ‘RAT ticket.
Those mean Republicans! Why don't they mail their registrations to non-existent voters like the Dems do? Phony voters never get upset by such mail.
The Christmas after my grandfather died he got a cheese basket from his cousin, who had also passed away by that time.
She always put in her orders early!
LOL!
I’m glad to see Conservatives are FINALLY competing with democrats for the all important dead vote! Democrats have had a lock on it for too long!
Heh!
I do have a horror story about getting my 1040 returned (box checked, spouse deceased) because HE didn't sign the joint return. Whatever employee opened the return and saw no spouse signature threw away the enclosed check, either by accident or on purpose, and I got hit with a penalty for "non payment".
I’ve heard of taping the return envelope to a brick...
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