Circulating voter ‘report cards’ are raising concerns about personal information

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Flyers grading Duval County voters on their voting participation are raising eyebrows and sparking questions across the city.

The flyer is sponsored by a nonprofit group called Florida Watch PC and says it will follow up with voters after the election.

The report card also lists an overall average for voters’ neighborhoods.

The group said they do not know who voters voted for in the elections but only know that a ballot was cast, something that Jack Hendrix said is puzzling.

“Whether or not you should be judged on whether you vote or not,” Hendrix said. “I don’t think that’s a legitimate concern.”

It’s also a problem for Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan, who has received complaints about the flyer as well.

“This disarms the voter. When someone sends him information about how they’ve been voting, they think, in their minds, do they know who I voted for? But of course, in Florida, I don’t even know, the supervisors don’t even know how a particular voter voted,” Hogan said.

Voters are concerned because the information seems very personal.

Hogan said the only personal data that is protected includes voters’ Social Security and driver’s license number and signatures.

“We don’t grade voters. They just ask what elections have they voted in and I have to give them that information. We have to do it because it’s public record law,” Hogan said. “We have to follow the law, obviously. I’m disgusted with these groups. They alarm the public, and they scare the public.”

News4JAX reached out to the group but has not heard back.

It’s unclear how the group is calculating the grades. Reporter Jim Piggott received a C+ grade based on his flyer and he has voted in every election.


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Jim Piggott is the reporter to count on when it comes to city government and how it will affect the community.