Recipients of voter data that contained personal information
The following organizations received discs from the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office in October that illegally contained personal data, such as voters’ Social Security numbers and birth dates:
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Democratic Party
Georgia GunOwner Magazine
Georgia Libertarian Party
Georgia Pundit
Georgia Republican Party
Independence Party of Georgia
Macon Telegraph
News Publishing Co.
Peach Pundit
Savannah Morning News
Southern Party of Georgia
The embarrassing data breach that led to the illegal disclosure of the private information of more than 6 million Georgia voters also brought to the surface the methods used by political parties in the ceaseless battle to pinpoint which voters they need to win.
The state's Democratic and Republican parties mine the monthly data — which, aside from last month's mishap, is scrubbed of confidential information — to hone in on political targets. It's an indispensable trove of information that, since the office started selling the data in 1995, identifies who votes, what parties they're likely to support and where they live.
The parties use the data as a starting point to target their most likely supporters, as well as others who are on the fence. In last year’s elections, the information provided a foundation that tablet-toting canvassers and voter-outreach coordinators used to register voters and then push them toward the polls.
Media outlets, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, also pore through the data to analyze voter registration patterns and write about changes and trends in the electorate.
Secretary of State Brian Kemp's office is required by law to send the basic voter data to political parties and news organizations that request it. It includes a voter's name, address, race, gender, the date they registered to vote, when they last voted and which primaries they voted in.
It’s sent to political parties and the media free of charge; others — such as political campaigns — can buy the statewide files for $500.
The data not only go each month to the major political parties and media organizations such as the AJC. They also are sent to fringe political parties, including the Georgia Independence Party and the Georgia Southern Party, as well as to Georgia GunOwner Magazine.
Last month the office sent a full voter file, including Social Security numbers and other confidential information, to 12 organizations that regularly subscribe to the “voter lists” maintained by the states.
Kemp, widely considered a potential candidate for governor in 2018, attributed the problem to a "clerical error," fired the IT staffer he said was responsible and apologized for the breach. His office said it retrieved nine of the 12 discs and that the other three were "confirmed" to have been disposed of by the recipients.
Many of Kemp's Republican allies have been curiously quiet, while Democrats have seized on the breach to question Kemp's competence. Democratic Party of Georgia spokesman Michael Smith said his party uses the data for "voter contact" and to help voters locate their precincts.
“However, I have no idea what the Republican Party or the Libertarian Party does with their data. And I definitely have no idea what the gun magazine does with their data disc. Or the seven other entities, for that matter,” he said.
“This isn’t just a political matter — it’s personal. My information was on that disk, too. And I want answers.”
Georgia GOP spokesman Ryan Mahoney said his organization uses the details to “update our data and better communicate with Georgia voters.”
The fallout has prompted Kemp’s office to review how it handles confidential information. Among the immediate changes is a “reset” of the list of who receives the voter files that would require the media and political parties to apply monthly for the information rather than receive it automatically, said David Dove, a Kemp deputy.
Big data
Both major parties have embraced data-crunching strategies after President Barack Obama used a melding of voter analytics and grass-roots organization to win the White House in 2008 and keep it four years later.
Now the data culled from the Secretary of State’s Office form the backbone of a far more sophisticated get-out-the-vote effort from the two organizations.
With competitive governor and U.S. Senate races last year, the GOP created a mobile app with a changing list of questions for its door-to-door volunteers to mine data from likely supporters. Democratic groups, such as the New Georgia Project, countered with their own tech-heavy voter registration software.
Political analysts, including several who receive the data, use that information to cull detailed voter registration data for their clients. They can use it to focus in on a narrow niche, such as voters in Brookhaven for an off-year City Council race or a special election for a south Atlanta House seat.
They can use it to help fundraise and figure out where to target mailers. And they can see who has been an active voter in the past so they can tell who is most likely to show up at the polls.
“This is crucial information for any campaign. For instance, because fewer voters participate in special elections or runoffs, if you’re running a campaign that goes to a runoff, you need to get your candidate’s message to the voters who are most likely to show up,” said Mike Hassinger, a metro Atlanta political operative.
“The data helps you identify those voters so you’re not spending money and time talking to voters who aren’t going to participate in the election,” he said.
Smaller parties, too, are looking for any leg up they can get from the info. Doug Craig, a Libertarian Party candidate for governor in 2018, said the data help him shape his party's "walking list" — the addresses of potential supporters who he and other Libertarian activists hope to contact over the next three years.
As he puts it: “It helps you know who the supervoters are.”
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