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

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

#41
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…

Great comment. I think this is an underappreciated trend. Technology is enabling actions that were previously unfathomable, due to limited resources and circumstantial practicalities.

Modern systems are much more powerful (in certain ways), enabling potential injustices that no one ever considered possible, and thus of course made no effort to protect against. We are only beginning to consider all of the ramifications of these new systems, what new abuses are available, what the impacts could may be, and how to properly account for new abuses.

We have to work hard to make sure our systems don't enable large-scale automated injustice.

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

#42
post #28

Everyone used to have a printed telephone book with almost everyone's name and address. There are lots of public record search sites. Names and addresses are not hard to find. What's the big deal?

Privacy derangement syndrome is big now. People even question license plates.

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

#43
post #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.

The parties want it, they have given themselves special privileges and don't want non-members to share.

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

#44
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…

The technology hasn't leveled the playing field at all, it just tilted all the power towards large organizations with lots of technologists sitting around.

What kind of technology department do you need to make a mail merge out of an excel file?

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

#45

From the perspective of an Australian where voting is compulsory and something like 98% of those eligible actually vote: it should have been a list of the people who DIDN’T vote with a wtf!

The fact that your country makes an even bigger mess of voting is no reason to gloat.

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

#46

Look what some others are doing with this publicly available information: https://freebeacon.com/politics/dems-warn-multiple-states-we...

Yes, indeed: https://www.thedailybeast.com/gop-mailer-well-tell-your-neig...

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

#47

From the perspective of an Australian where voting is compulsory and something like 98% of those eligible actually vote: it should have been a list of the people who DIDN’T vote with a wtf!

The fact that your country makes an even bigger mess of voting is no reason to gloat.

Please explain.

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

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that your country makes an even bigger mess of voting is no reason to gloat.

Please explain.

Compulsory voting is wrong for many reasons, it fixes a symptom (low voter turnout as a proxy for reduced participation) but not the cause (reduced participation due to a disconnect between politics and the voters).

Turnout by itself should not be a goal, but free and willing participation should be.

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