Live data from Hacker News

Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

techcrunch.com

11–20 of 130 posts

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#12
post #10

I am not sure that it can be considered doxxing if the personally identifying information is what used to be available in the phone book. Ma Bell was apparently doxxing us for decades before it was cool.

The phone book didn't tell you that someone was an absentee voter.

Or if they were disabled.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#13
post #10

I am not sure that it can be considered doxxing if the personally identifying information is what used to be available in the phone book. Ma Bell was apparently doxxing us for decades before it was cool.

The phone book didn't tell you that someone was an absentee voter.

At least in my state, New Mexico, you can look that information up for any voter with just a name and birthday.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#14

I worked at the polls in California for the first time this year. We were required to post a public list of everyone who voted including their address. It's posted on the outside of the polling place for anyone to review if they so choose. The point of anonymous voting is to ensure that the voter's choices are secret, not to conceal the fact that someone voted. Even in Afghanistan where voting can cost your life, pur…

What I don't get is that the state tracks party affiliation and publishes it. This information should not be public or even better not tracked.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#15
This is nothing new. This kind of data has always been available in most states. As long ago as at least the mid-90s, I recall using large databases of every voter in a particular state when I was politically active and doing work for a party. It included name, address, phone number, party, registration date, and which elections they had participated in for the previous dozen years (at least). We had other data that was bumped against those records to give a fairly complete picture of over two million voters in that state. The other party had similar databases. I don't understand the outcry here, other than suddenly the data is available to anyone.

For what it's worth, not making it publicly available isn't really feasible either, since that would make fraud trivially easy for any resourceful and determined organization.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#16
Whilst legally it may not be wrong. Morally, it's a dangerous path as what good do they expect to come from this by aggregating the data into packaged up form that enables joe public of all forms, easy access.

It is in effect, tarring all these people with a brush that is an edge-case scenario and that would be voter fraud.

Guilty until proven innocent in the social media age has become the norm alas.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#17
post #5

> “State law requires the public availability of voter lists, including names and address of registered voters,” she said in an email. > It’s little surprise that the way Kemp’s office approached confirming absentee ballots was met with anger. “While the data may already be public, it is not publicly available in aggregate like this,” It's interesting how so many laws are predicated on limited resources. Ie, all name…

>Perhaps that's better than nothing

Arguably, it's worse than nothing for the reasons you described. It's the state-level equivalent of literally shoving things under the rug.

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#18
post #16

Whilst legally it may not be wrong. Morally, it's a dangerous path as what good do they expect to come from this by aggregating the data into packaged up form that enables joe public of all forms, easy access. It is in effect, tarring all these people with a brush that is an edge-case scenario and that would be voter fraud. Guilty until proven innocent in the social media age has become the norm alas.

How is this tarring people? For voting?

Re: Georgia’s secretary of state posts personal details of absentee voters online

#19
post #16

Whilst legally it may not be wrong. Morally, it's a dangerous path as what good do they expect to come from this by aggregating the data into packaged up form that enables joe public of all forms, easy access. It is in effect, tarring all these people with a brush that is an edge-case scenario and that would be voter fraud. Guilty until proven innocent in the social media age has become the norm alas.

How is this tarring people? For voting?

In fairness, black folks in the South have legitimate reasons to be a bit leery of a public "here's who voted" list. Plenty alive today were alive during Jim Crow.
Post reply on HN