07/11/12 – Board of Elections
3:27 p.m.
After a quick zip across from the WPRO studios in East Providence, I’m in the Board of Elections hearing room awaiting the board’s vote on withholding phone and email information from voter registrations on an emergency basis. See Andrew Morse’s background report for details.
I’d wager that the attendance is not usually so robust for these events. The chairmen of all three parties are here. Multiple RI Tea Party folks. Ocean State Tea Party in Action folks. Rhode Island Republican Assembly. Other familiar faces. Phil Marcelo from the Providence Journal; Jim Baron.
Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
No candidate or reporter needs access to a voter’s email or phone number. It should be private.
Possibly not, “Just say no”. That remains to be determined.
The issue, however, was not the substance of the question, it was how this routine policy matter represented an emergency requiring a last-minute meeting DURING SIGNATURE GATHERING PERIOD to address.
After some reflection, the Board wisely saw that there was no emergency and voted to take the matter up at a future, non-emergency meeting.
There was no emergency which justified circumventing the normal process and open meetings requirements, as the B of E lawyer thankfully agreed.
Your phone number is likely in that thing called the “phone book” or its internet equivalent anyway. Remember, you provide it on the voter registration for as an option; you are not required to provide it. Don’t want phone calls? Don’t give out your number!
This rule change wouldn’t have done anything but benefit the monied and incumbents, who can afford to develop databases and cross reference voter lists with phone numbers in phone books and with information readily available from social media.
Candidates need to be able to reach out to potential voters. I’d rather get an e-mail or a phone call, rather than more junk mail.