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Election roundup: Bostonians getting creepy postcards from out of state; candidates debate again

Postcard says people know if you voted

People in Roslindale and Jamaica Plain report getting post cards from out-of-staters letting them know that whether or not they vote is a matter of public record and, of course, implying that somebody is keeping track. Nothing creepy at all about that, even if it is true one's record of going to the polls (or sending in a ballot) is public.

The Daily Free Press summarizes last night's debate between Annissa Essaibi George and Michelle Wu, in which Essaibi George all but said some Wu is a puppet controlled by some creepy right-wing rich guy from Colorado because the college roommate with whom Wu bought a house (the one she lives in in Roslindale) is Creepy Guy's daughter.

Another debate for the two is at 4 p.m. next Wednesday, an online one sponsored by Boston affordable-housing providers. Free registration required.

In addition to voting for mayor and city councilors, voters will also get to decide Question 1, which would give the council more of a say in the writing of the city's budget. Vote yes | Vote no.

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Comments

Love it how the local Democrats have organized efforts to exert their influence in "swing states" but then take affront when folks from other states do something fairly innocuous like this (which doesn't even mention any candidate).

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The problem is that the wording is creepy and that it's being sent to people who *do* vote, which makes it seem vaguely like an intimidation campaign.

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…how is that “innocuous”?

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They did this last fall (or something like it) and I told them that they were out of their goddamn minds and that it would antagonize people more than anything.

But at least whoever they were doing it for had the sense to have them ship them elsewhere and then send them locally so they'd have a local postmark.

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We got one of those postcards - it's meant to be intimidating? I thought it was some high school civics project to encourage people to vote.

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That's what I found odd about getting the postcard. If it's supposed to encourage people to vote, shouldn't it be going to registered voters who DON'T vote? I can count on one hand the number of times I've missed voting in nearly 50 years!

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Yeah, except the people who consistently don't vote probably moved away, or died, or really don't care and aren't going to be convinced.

They should go after the people who vote sporadically.

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one, that it's handwritten

two, that it specifically mentions that "if you vote is public record"

three, that it's from out of state

if it was just a "civics project" wouldn't it a) come from someone local (what kind of high school project involves looking up voter rolls on the other side of the country??) and b) be more along the lines of "remember to vote", not "we're watching to make sure you do"?

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in a couple of different twee "handwriting" fonts. The body text looks something like Handwriting-Dakota, the signature something like CK Carolyn. There are scores of these available for free or nearly free.

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For example, the lowercase e's on the postcard are all similar, but are obviously different. It's possible to do that automatically, but your typical free font and software aren't that sophisticated.

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I got a postcard yesterday with the exact same message, from Connie in Saint Paul, MN.

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I thought it rather creepy and/or slightly threatening. Mostly weird, though. I've participated in postcard campaigns in the past, but they have been more positive in the language recommendations - to vote, ideally for a certain candidate, but to vote. To take advantage of our right to vote.

It bring to mind the commentary on Kendra Hicks and how she didn't vote in some elections. Thanks Mary Tamer campaign.

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Some truth here. PRIOR to running, Wu were rubbing shoulders with BIG Trumpers. Don’t know if she knew it or not. She’s VERY smaht, and has all the best intentions for our city. I’m thinking about the wolves and special interest groups, who with no doubt in my mind change Boston forever! MENINO was a stubborn mayor, and fought hard to keep the neighborhoods’ diverse. He feared gentifrication, and how it would kill the soul of this city. I usually vote for the lesser of two evils this time around seems like we’re in trouble… one is faah left, and the aahtha is middle rightish…. Let’s see what happens…..

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Are you feeling quite all right?

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And take a few deep breaths.

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The Seaport was Menino's doing, as was the destruction of the old Kenmore Square, etc. The city gentrified tremendously in the time he was mayor and with his support.

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Imagine how much housing could have been build on that site!

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There is value in having a high quality convention center, especially with the industries we've attracted to our area. That is not to say that housing is not exceptionally important, but we had plenty of empty lots at the time it was built that are still empty now...

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Certainly a moot point but having housing right near all the bio and financial services businesses in the Seaport would be a better option. Conventions are occasional bumps and are only losing importance as people become accustomed to Zoom type interactions and reducing needless travel.

It's wild to assert that the booming economy around here in biotech, etc... is at all linked to the convention center vs. networking effects of existing businesses and the local concentration of world class hospitals/universities.

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We got one yesterday too, ours was from SF. It did come off threatening but I don’t think that was the intention. Either way, super weird, super creepy.

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Though mine managed to make it through USPS without a postmark, so I don't know where it came from. I thought the same as others; if you've looked at the voting rolls you know I vote regularly and you've just wasted postage on this card.

Weird.

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It's creepy because Massachusetts doesn't already have an Internet-facing portal where anyone can access voter history. All that public record data should be on the web, but we're accustomed to it being hard to access..

For an example of what it should look like, visit the North Carolina portal and search for John R Edwards born in 1953. It shows you his voting history going back more than 25 years.

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even be a matter of public record that anyone can access? It's nobody's d@mm business but the individual's.

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It has always been this way. We don't have a secret government.

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If you work for a state agency, your salary is a matter of public record.

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Which mentions a group that sends postcards to people in "swing states," which, if they're the ones behind this would be kind of odd, given that while Massachusetts may be many things, a "swing state" it is not.

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I've been sending postcards through postcards to voters. The message is something like:

"Candidate's Name is running for Congress. Vote for her because $reason. Please vote early now or in person on Nov. 2."

There is nothing on there about the recipient, or whether they voted last year, not even their name, just the address.

All they tell the volunteers is that at least one person is registered to vote at that address, and the campaign thinks that person is more likely to vote for their candidate than for her opponent.

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I have had to write postcards with similar language to out of state voters.

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"had to"?

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I think that this is a great initiative, especially since theoretically they don't care who I (yup, I got one) vote for. That's always been my schtick- vote, and if anything, you'll be able to cancel my vote out.

I'm also of the mind that those who vote all the time will get the ear of the politicians. And yes, they do keep track of who is a regular voter and the others.

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I'm also of the mind that those who vote all the time will get the ear of the politicians. And yes, they do keep track of who is a regular voter and the others.

Absolutely. When my district has abysmally poor turnout, some of us sadly shake our heads and say, "with turnout like that, it'll be a miracle we even get our streets plowed and our trash picked up."

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The Environmental Voter Project is all about encouraging people to become "supervoters" (people who vote in every election), and they do say, approximately, "we're not telling you how to vote; we're just asking you to vote." But they're not anonymous about it; they state clearly who they are and what their mission is.

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My newly registered son got it. I thought it was targeted to new voters. Guess not.

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I didn't get one. Do they not send these to the ghetto?

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This is the Zodiac speaking.

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