DALLAS — When Kay Blackburn read a flyer she received in the mail before the midterm election, her blood boiled.
“I thought it was humiliating,” said the Casa Linda grandmother. It gave her a C letter grade based on how often she voted in the past, and showed her neighbor’s letter grades too, for comparison.
“I had the lowest grade. Obviously, that would be an embarrassment to anybody, like having the lowest grade in school and making me look bad in front of my neighbors,” Blackburn said.
The conservative group Club for Growth is behind the flyers, but wouldn’t say how many they sent. “We want to encourage everyone to vote, so we are using a scientifically-proven method to do exactly that. This is a common practice used across the country by organizations to get out the vote. We are not encouraging anyone to vote for a particular candidate or party,” said Club for Growth in a statement.
Blackburn wondered if the flyer was legal. It is, because whether you vote, your name, and address are public record. They can be attained through the secretary of state’s office or the local election office, for a fee. “I was being shamed because I hadn’t voted enough and I thought ‘Well, it’s none of their business,’” said Blackburn.
Various organizations have sent letters and postcards to registered voters about their voting history. The democratic group Forward Majority also mailed letter grade, but their flyers don’t show your neighbor’s grade.
“I don’t think this card’s going to make me vote. I planned to vote anyway. This card just infuriated me,” said Blackburn.
Blackburn has ALS, and says that makes it more difficult to get to the polls. “People don’t know what goes on inside a person’s life, why they don’t vote or can’t vote,” she said.