Vote411 Feeds Voter Info To Leftist Data Harvesting Machine
Vote411 is a project associated with the League of Women Voters, claiming to be a nonpartisan resource for election-related information. However, it has faced allegations of data collection aimed at leftist organizations. While promoting itself as a one-stop shop for voter registration and information, the group collects user data, including IP addresses and personal details, which it claims are used for managing their site and voter engagement.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen cautioned voters against Vote411, labeling its public service announcements as misleading and accusing the site of data mining efforts disguised as voter assistance. He noted that users are often redirected to the state’s official site after their data is collected.
The League of Women Voters maintains that Vote411 is transparent about data collection practices and does not sell users’ personal data. Additionally, Vote411 collaborates with Rock the Vote for voter registration, raising further concerns about the potential sharing of user information, as Rock the Vote’s privacy policy allows data sharing with third parties. Critically, Rock the Vote has been noted for its leftist alignment and advocacy, which adds to the skepticism surrounding the neutrality of Vote411. the integration of user data collection with electoral processes raises significant concerns about privacy and intentions behind voter engagement initiatives.
Vote411, a project affiliated with the League of Women Voters, bills itself as a “nonpartisan” election resource while helping leftist groups collect user data.
The group calls itself a “nonpartisan,” “one-stop-shop” for “election related information,” according to its website. It offers “general and state-specific information” on things like voter registration and ID requirements. But it also collects user data for the leftist groups League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote.
Vote411 is a project of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF). This “educational and fundraising arm” of the League of Women Voters is an “advocacy group for electoral system changes.” The League of Women Voters spends most of its funding on leftist lobbying and advocacy, according to InfluenceWatch.
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen warned voters in a press release Monday that Vote411 had issued a “misleading public service announcement” encouraging residents to sign up through its website. But Allen said the website collects users’ data before redirecting them to the Alabama Secretary of State’s website.
“I’m exposing this data-mining collection effort masquerading as Vote411. It’s a sham,” Allen said in the release. “This is simply a shady way to collect the IP addresses and personal data of Alabama citizens.”
Allen cited the group’s privacy policy, which says “the League may, from time to time, share the name and mailing address of its non-member financial supporters with other non-profit organizations.”
Vote411 admits it collects users’ IP addresses — numbers associated with each unique device —and “certain other information,” which the group claims it uses to “manage our website.” For users who want to find a polling place, receive electronic communications, and contribute, the group said it may ask for “additional contact information, which may include your name, street address, city, state, zip code, phone number and billing information.”
Still, the group insists the League of Women Voters “will not rent, sell or trade your email address or phone number with any third party.”
The League of Women Voters Education Fund issued a press release Monday dismissing concerns about Vote411 as “misinformation.”
“It’s troubling that misinformation about the League’s nonpartisan elections resource is being spread among voters,” the release reads. “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.”
Capturing User Data
Rock the Vote is a different story.
One of Vote411’s main focuses, voter registration, takes place through a form on the group’s website operated by Rock the Vote — a leftist-aligned group that aims to “build the political power of young people,” according to InfluenceWatch.
Rock the Vote claims to be “nonpartisan,” but it has promoted leftist causes like abortion, easy-on-crime policies, and legalizing marijuana, InfluenceWatch reported. In 2019, the group reportedly “circulated a petition” to abolish the Electoral College.
When users register to vote through Vote411’s website, they “accept Rock the Vote’s privacy policy.”
According to the policy, users interacting with Rock the Vote’s “Online Voter Registration Platform” may allow the group to collect “personal information.”
This includes “identifiers” like a Social Security Number; “other government issued ID numbers;” phone number, name, email, and physical address; “demographic information” like birthday, “gender,” race, and “marital status;” “professional information” like one’s employer or organization; “internet activity information” like one’s IP address; “non-precise geolocation information.”
A Leftist Data Network
Rock the Vote’s privacy policy allows it to share user information with multiple third parties, including Rock the Vote’s contractors like its “voter file vendor;” “partners and organizations” with “principles and missions that overlap” with those of Rock the Vote; and “civic technology partners” that use “customer versions” of Rock the Vote’s tools.
Rock the Vote’s many “civic technology partners” raise further questions about data usage.
The League of Women Voters — the parent group of Vote411, which registers voters through Rock the Vote — is listed among these partners.
Another partner is The Voter Participation Center (VPC) which, as The Federalist previously reported, sends out official-looking mailers with prepaid postage to what it considers eligible voters. The mailers “produced an additional 272,443 votes” in the already-tight 2020 election. Beyond boosting turnout, the mailers directed recipients to online voter registration operated in part by Rock the Vote, which could then harvest user data.
According to Rock the Vote’s website, more notable “civic technology partners” include the Campus Vote Project, anti-gun Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund, gay dating app Grindr, anti-religious freedom Human Rights Campaign, anti-gun March for Our Lives, Microsoft, media data giant Nielsen, Planned Parenthood, dating app Tinder, Twitter (now X), and the USA Today Network.
Vote411 masquerades as a disinterested elections group, capturing apparently limited user data for the League of Women Voters. But it funnels potential voters to register through Rock the Vote, which captures the “personal information” described earlier. Then, any of the above “civic technology partners” that use “customer versions” of Rock the Vote’s tools can potentially gain access to users’ personal data.
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo’s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is originally from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.
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