Democratic voting mailer could be viewed as intimidation, analysts say

ALBANY — The mailing to voters is labeled “Your Personal Vote History Record.” The word “Notice” is stamped in red next to an image of the American flag. The flip side notes whether the voter cast ballots in each of the past three years, and states: “We will update your voting record after Election Day after confirming whether you voted.”

The mailer was from the state Democratic Committee to Democrats in Suffolk County, where a race for county executive is underway between Democrat David Calone and Republican Edward P. Romaine. Election Day is Nov. 7.

Political scientists who research campaign trends said the mailer fits a pattern of more aggressive, even intimidating messaging to voters in recent years nationally by both major parties.

The mailer’s “’Big-Brother-is-watching-whether-you-vote approach strikes me as unseemly and inappropriate,” said Beth A. Rosenson, a political science professor at the University of Florida who researches campaign trends.

Other researchers also referenced George Orwell’s dystopian novel "1984."

“It does have what I would consider a darker implication, a ‘Big Brother’ intimation that they are watching to see if people actually vote, presumably to prod them to vote,” said Robert Spitzer, distinguished professor of political science from the State University of New York at Cortland College. “If that is the strategy, it’s a poor choice.

“The message … says, in essence, ‘We are watching,’ even though how people vote is purely private,” Spitzer added. “I doubt that this will be helpful to the Democratic Party’s effort to boost turnout.”

State Democratic Committee chairman Jay Jacobs said he hadn’t seen the mailer before it was sent this month, but he said the postcard has been mailed before in New York and nationally.

“I can see some people may find that somewhat intimidating, but it was not meant to be,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said he will now review all mailings before they are sent.

The Suffolk County Republican Committee didn’t respond to a request for comment.

There have been other recent aggressive moves to directly influence voters. In September, state Attorney General Letitia James issued a cease-and-desist order to NY Citizens Audit Civil Fund, telling the group led by Republicans to end any “voter deception and intimidation” or face state and federal sanctions. The group had been confronting voters at their homes statewide, including in Suffolk, and several voters said they felt intimidated.

No other reports of confrontations with voters have been reported by state officials since James' action, according to the state Board of Elections.

Spitzer said the two efforts are of different scales, but both appear intent on pressuring voters directly in a new way.

“Republican efforts at intimidation in recent years, including not just door-to-door efforts but sending people to polling places to intimidate voters and polling officials, are significant and disturbing,” Spitzer said. “Traditional efforts to boost voter turnout rely on positive incentives and exhortations, such as urging people to vote because it’s their civic duty, offering rides to the polls, reminders of when Election Day is, voting hours, polling locations.”

John Kaehny, executive director of the good-government group Reinvent Albany, said the Democrats’ mailer is questionable but not on the level of intimidation of the NY Citizens Audit Civil Fund.

“The mailer is tone deaf, clumsy, but not malicious,” Kaehny said.

Jacobs said the Democratic mailer was sent to motivate Suffolk Democrats.

“When we lose elections,” Jacobs said, “very often it’s because Democrats don’t come out, and Republicans do. [The mailer] just reminds them that it is their responsibility to vote.”

Last year, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul lost Suffolk in her election bid for her first full term. Hochul beat GOP nominee Lee Zeldin, the former congressman from Shirley, by 5% statewide, despite Democrats’ more than 2-1 voter enrollment advantage.

A 2008 study published in American Political Science Review shows mailers such as the one sent by Democrats work, said James Battista, a political science professor at the University at Buffalo.

“These mailers, which show your own record and ‘promise’ to ‘update’ the records, are very close to the second-most-effective mailers,” Battista said. The most effective mailers promised to publicly “out” party members who didn’t vote. “What's going on is just that the tools that are most effective at influencing our behavior often feel bad when they're employed on us.”

And the pressure is on in Suffolk, where registered Democrats have a narrow enrollment advantage over Republicans.

This year, Suffolk County remains a battleground. It is narrowly divided: 355,006 registered Democrats to 322,420 registered Republicans (along with 20,113 registered Conservatives and 3,839 members of the Working Families Party). In addition, the county has 294,831 voters not enrolled in any party and who are courted heavily by both major parties.

“Political tactics have gotten more and more bizarre,” said Richard Benedetto, a journalism professor at American University in Washington, D.C., and a former White House correspondent and political reporter throughout New York State. “It seems like anything goes these days. And the poor voter is either beleaguered or turned off, saying all the politicians are bums.”

“Now, it’s all blood sport,” Benedetto said. “The pressure is high for people who feel that if we back down or play it too soft, we are going to get blindsided. So, we have to play the game.”

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.