Letters 'shame' voters, show voting record to neighbors

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some people in Placer County, California, say they received a letter that is blatant voter shaming. California's secretary of state is looking into it.

A typical trip to the mailbox ended in shock for Heather Appel: "It feels like a violation of privacy."

A letter from a group called the Northern California State Voter Project started by reminding her of an upcoming special election. But the letter went on to list her neighbors' names and whether or not they voted in the last three elections.

"It's like, am I supposed to call my neighbor and say, 'Why didn't you vote in the last elections?'" Appel told KTXL.

The Placer County Elections Office has gotten around two dozen reports of the letters.

TRENDING NOW:

"At what point does that line get crossed that we're sharing personal information that nobody needs to know? Who is trying to shame these people? Who is this organization?" asked Amanda Peterson.

The group said it plans to send out a follow-up note after the special election on June 4, saying whether these people voted or not.

"All of that information that is within the letter is allowed to be in the letter by law. What we don't like in this office is the implication that people are going to be ratted out," said Ryan Ronco, the clerk-recorder/registrar of voters for Placer County.

Ronco said they had never heard of the organization before this.

The group does not have a website, just an address for a generic post office box.

While voting history is public record, Ronco said every voter should be able to cast their ballot free of intimidation.

"Even though I want 100 percent turnout, I don't want people to vote because they feel threatened in some way," said Ronco.

The secretary of state's office is investigating to see whether the mailing violates any state election laws.

Appel hopes her personal information isn't being sent out to neighbors, too. "This company or organization was willing to spend time and money to get this information and mail it out. So, to me, there has to be something else behind it other than 'Hey, please vote,'" Appel said.

The secretary of state's office is urging anyone who has received the letter to contact them. The office suspects the letter campaign reaches beyond Placer County.

CNN/KTXL