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THE VIRGINIA WATCHDOG
This was originally published on 1/14/04. What has changed since then?
The Virginia Watchdog has just discovered that the Virginia Registered Voter list is being sold to a company not authorized to buy it by Code!!!
IF Code of VA section 24.2-405 (printed and
linked way below) is the law about who can (and can't) buy a
REGISTERED VOTER "LIST", then why has ARISTOTLE
INTERNATIONAL (
www.aristotle.com ) been able to buy
the list of all VA registered voters and also have their
"list" updated on a regular basis according to an employee of the State
Board of Elections??? If a General Registrar did this, he/she could go to
jail!!!
ARISTOTLE doesn't meet the definition of a non-profit, a candidate, or court, etc. as described in the VA Code. So what gives? Read this article "For Sale - The American Voter" which was published last week on "wired.com".... http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,61543,00.html The reporter who wrote the story actually bought voter information from Aristotle using phony credentials...but why should Aristotle be allowed to buy VA information in the first place? They can then cross reference the voter list with other lists they already have with Social Security numbers and Bingo! what a boon to anyone who wants to buy the list from them!
What VA Attorney General
allowed this to happen??? One AG gave their blessings to sell the list
because they didn't want to defend it in court...
Maybe a VA Newspaper will dig out all the details that I can't find out.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch has been made aware of this....
Just one more way we're being sold out
in Virginia. This is on top of boat/jet ski registration and the hunting and
fishing "licensee" database being sold by DGIF. Here's the 13 page contract
between VIPNET and DGIF allowing it which states the fees
http://www.opcva.com/watchdog/041403a.html
And that's on top of the Clerks putting all our records on the internet for "anyone" to sign up and dig into 24/7 via the internet... Why "ANYONE"? Because they are "PUBLIC RECORDS." Ask your Senator or Delegate why all this is happening and what he/she is going to do about it.... and then ask the Attorney General of Virginia (Jerry Kilgore) what he's going to do about it. Was he the AG that allowed the list to be sold??? State Board of Elections got permission from an AG to sell it the list - they originally told Aristotle "no", but after threat of a lawsuit an AG allowed the State Board to sell us out!!! SO if Aristotle can get it, then who else is getting it who shouldn't be? But why should our info then be sold by Aristotle?
Here's the law about who can legally get the
list with our full names, addresses, and DOBs:
CODE OF VA
§
24.2-405. Persons who may obtain lists of registered voters.
A. The State Board shall furnish, at a reasonable
price, lists of registered voters for their districts to (i)
courts of the Commonwealth and the United
States for jury selection purposes, (ii) candidates
for election or political party nomination to further their candidacy, (iii)
political party committees or officials thereof
for political purposes only, (iv) political action
committees that have filed a current statement of organization with
the State Board pursuant to §
24.2-908,
or with the Federal Elections Commission pursuant to federal law, for
political purposes only, (v) incumbent officeholders
to report to their constituents, and (vi) nonprofit
organizations that promote voter participation and registration for
that purpose only. The lists shall be furnished to no one else and used for
no other purpose.
However, the State Board is authorized to furnish
information from the voter registration system to general registrars for
their official use and to the Department of Motor Vehicles and other
appropriate state agencies for maintenance of the voter registration system.
If you go to http://www.aristotle.com/page.asp?page_id=vlo you can see they charge $25 per thousand names and then click on the link to voter stats...Be sure to look at every page that has VA information... It is a real eye opener!!!!! |
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