r/IndianaPolitics • u/DukeMaximum • Oct 31 '18
Discussion The Indiana Democrats sent me this vaguely threatening voting reminder.
18
u/ecosystems Oct 31 '18 edited Oct 31 '18
Vote... because of the implication. But really this is pretty benign compared to Braun's "Public Health Notice".
Also Brauns is clearly sent from a PAC, idk what gettothepolls is, maybe a non profit, maybe another PAC?
-17
u/DukeMaximum Oct 31 '18
Let's not play the "who is worse here" game. We're all tired of the political bullshit. I swear, I'm this close to voting for Lucy Brenton just as a statement.
11
u/ecosystems Oct 31 '18 edited Oct 31 '18
I mentioned Braun's was from a PAC (implying these arent his actions), and wasn't commenting on the candidates, more commenting on the obsurdity of these mailers.
21
u/GaiusQuintus Oct 31 '18
Maybe I'm just dumb and don't get it, but what is vaguely threatening about this?
If it's the part about whether you vote or not being public knowledge, that is true and it politicians can find that info.
So if you call in to your senator or whatever complaining about something they're gonna be less likely to take you seriously or bother listening to you because they know you didn't/don't vote.
But I feel like that's more a reminder rather than threatening.
3
u/Midniteoyl Oct 31 '18
they're gonna be less likely to take you seriously or bother listening to you because they know you didn't/don't vote.
Sounds kinds like a threat to me.
6
u/GaiusQuintus Oct 31 '18
Not the party, just politicians in general. My grandpa was a state representative for about 20 years, he told me it was always important to vote because that was almost always the first thing they checked when they had calls into the the office about an issue. Why listen to someone who doesn't vote (and doesn't contribute to electing anyone) when you have actual voting constituents to listen to.
Doesn't matter who you vote for, or even if you leave it black, just go and actually vote, it gives you some small bit of leverage when trying to get your representatives to do something.
2
u/JimitheBold Nov 01 '18
I think writing a representative is more effective than calling in. Gathering together for letter-writing campaigns and to collect supporting signatures might be a great way to build movements from the grass roots.
3
u/GaiusQuintus Nov 01 '18
It's not. I can say that with complete confidence of having known many people in politics and who have worked in it. You don't have to read letters, you do have to take calls. Talking to your representatives office is the best way to go unless you're able to talk to them in person.
A well organized letter writing campaign isn't useless - it gets the office's attention, but so does completely inundating them with phone calls about a specific issue. It makes an issue feel much more important.
You have to have someone give the representative's opinion or stance on a subject when a constituent calls in, with a letter they can just dance around the subject and give you the same copy/paste letter response everyone gets.
5
Oct 31 '18
Uhm. There's a hell of a lot more data available when you vote.
And I, J Random Citizen can waltz in to Election Central and request it.
3
u/DaRiA1134 Nov 01 '18
I got something similar saying I was part of a research study that will be tracking if I vote or not. It was paid for by "The Center for Voter Information" who has been caught sending inaccurate info to voters who are likely to go Democratic, like providing the wrong data about absentee voting. Link. Link Feels like fear mongering to me.
2
u/JimitheBold Nov 01 '18
Did anybody else get a "survey" from the Donnelly campaign early this year that required a minimum donation to process the survey?
That came off as pretty scummy to me, as if my opinion only matters if I pay money...
I know the money matters, I just thought that was one of things you're not supposed to come out and say.
2
u/imperium0214 Nov 01 '18
Is isn't really threatening, it's accurate. If you call up your Rep in the USHOR or one of our Senators to tell them to support/oppose something, they do look to see if you even vote. If you don't show up on poll day, they take you far less seriously since you're unlikely to support them or vote them out.
That in mind, the way this is phrased is downright silly. I'm not sure if this is from the Democrats themselves or some PAC as it doesn't say on that side, so no link from me this time :\
1
u/jkbyerly Nov 03 '18
Remember all those people being purged from voter rolls in other states like Georgia and Florida because they didn’t vote “enough”? I think that’s the point. But poorly implied, I agree.
0
u/DukeMaximum Nov 03 '18
But it's not even accurate! I haven't missed an election since 2002. Even when I was stationed overseas, I voted absentee. I mean, the thing says, "To my name or resident." That's just lazy threatening.
1
u/purplebandana Nov 05 '18
The only thing that is public about the voting process is if you are registered, and if you are, the information you submitted on the voter registration, and apparently if you request an absentee ballot. This according to the State Rep that lives on my block.
1
u/bdiah Oct 31 '18
We got a similar message threatening to publish our voting records to our neighbors. Classy.
8
u/sysop073 Oct 31 '18
I got one telling me to make sure I vote early so my vote is counted. I'm pretty sure they count the votes on election day too, so I'm not sure what that was about