BETHESDA, Md. — WUSA9 is hearing concerns from voters in Maryland and Virginia after receiving letters listing not only their voting records but also the records of some of their neighbors.
Voters report having received letters from two nonprofits, the Voter Participation Center and Center for Voter Information.
On Wednesday people took to social media and spoke with WUSA9 about how they felt after opening up the letter with their voting records.
“Originally, I thought it was official and took one look and said well no,” said Leslie Miles, a Maryland woman who received a letter.
Miles said she received this letter in the mail Tuesday with her personal information and whether she voted in the past two presidential and past two midterm general elections.
"I know that what’s behind it, there is definitely peer pressure, an act of peer pressure,” Miles said. “People are more motivated to vote if they know that their neighbors have voted.”
Miles says she wasn’t upset with it but could understand some people’s concerns.
“I understand the motive behind it is to sort of get people feeling like 'Everyone else is voting around me what’s wrong with me? I’m a slacker. I better go vote' and I’ve already voted, and my husband already voted,” Miles said. “We’re not really the target for this.”
On Nextdoor — neighbors expressed concerns about this being creepy and uncalled for. Several commenters and posters say they also received the letter and called it ‘silly community pressure’, ‘confusing’, and ‘counterproductive’.
"I can't imagine it's beneficial. I can't imagine it’s worth the cost and the time,” said a woman who received a letter and wished not to be identified.
That Maryland woman said the thing that bothered her was that her voting record information was not accurate, and she didn’t want that to spread around.
“It said that I had not voted in 2020, which I absolutely did vote,” she said.
Some people even say it’s potential voter intimidation.
“If I were a person with a more recognizably different non-American sounding name, it would probably freak me out a little to see the fact that you voted as public I would feel a little targeted,” Miles said.
To be clear — Who you vote for will always be private… But whether you voted or not, and whether you are registered in a state is publicly available.
Miles says she’s surprised by this and thinks it would be a better tactic if it was done in person while canvassing.
“I do canvassing. I try to get people to vote and this is the first time I’ve seen this,” Miles said.