Secretary of State Wes Allen is warning Alabamians about a "misleading" public service announcement encouraging state residents to register to vote in an effort to mine user's data.
According to Allen, the PSA is being distributed by Vote411, an operation of the League of Women Voters. The PSA reportedly instructs Alabamians to register to vote using the Vote411 website. The website captures visitors' personal data, including their IP address and contact information, and then, once the information has been captured, the individual is directed to the Alabama Secretary of State's website.
"I'm exposing this data-mining collection effort masquerading as Vote411. It's a sham. This is simply a shady way to collect the IP addresses and personal data of Alabama citizens. In the website's fine print, the League of Women Voters disclose that 'The League may, from time to time, share the name and mailing address of its non-member financial supporters with other non-profit organizations. But they hide that in a small link they hope no one will read."
He continued, "Alabama citizens can rest assured that the Secretary of State's office and local election officials are well-equipped to handle voter registration in Alabama. There is no reason to use a data collection website like the one being managed by the League of Women Voters which will give your personal data to other entities without your knowledge and could likely put your personal data at risk. Skip these data collecting websites and go directly to the secure website at AlabamaVotes.gov where your privacy will be respected."
The League issued a statement responding to criticisms of its data collection policy and emphasized its stance as a strictly nonpartisan organization.
“It’s troubling that misinformation about the League’s nonpartisan elections resource is being spread among voters,” the statement read. “The League of Women Voters’ VOTE411.org platform is a tool that provides the public with both federal and state-specific information so voters can participate in our democracy with confidence. The League of Women Voters has been strictly nonpartisan for over a century, neither supporting nor opposing political parties or candidates for office at any level of government.”
It continued, “VOTE411 is transparent about the data collected on our website, and voters should rest assured that using the tool does not result in the selling or sharing of their personal data. Learn more about VOTE411 and read our privacy policy here.”
The League’s privacy policy does state it “may, from time to time, share the name and mailing address of its non-member financial supporters with other non-profit organizations.” However, it later says “The League will not rent, sell or trade your email address or phone number with any third party.”
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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