Welcome

This site was created by Nicholl McGuire, Inspirational Speaker and Author. Feel free to comment, share links and subscribe. If you have a business or would like to guest post feel free to contact. Check out topics on this blog and select what interests you. They are found at the bottom of this page. Peace and Love.

Friday

African Americans Everywhere Get Ready to Pay: What You Forgot About When You Registered to Vote

"Tell Peaches, Lukesha, JJ, and Rod that the government thanks you for registering to vote and making history, but you need to pay up!" That's right, if you have been hiding from those bill collectors, running from the law, or doing something else to try to keep some cash in your pocket like some of your family and friends, then you may have forgotten that when you registered to vote, your business went out in the street!

According to the California Voter Foundation (CVF), “voter data is widely disseminated to secondary users, including commercial interests in 22 states, typically without any notice to voters that their information will be shared.” This isn’t any breaking news for some readers, because they already knew it. The CVF study was conducted back in 2002, and in that study they report who can obtain your information. Although their findings don’t name specific entities, it does give you general information on who has access to your private information. It also lists the kind of changes they suggest state governments should make to protect our privacy. The study reports, candidates and political parties have access to voter lists, 43 states use the same list as a juror source list, and 22 states allow unrestricted access to the list and permit the list to be used for commercial purposes. There are four states who grant scholars and academics access to voter lists under state statutes and four states grant journalists access to voter lists under state statutes at the time of this writing. The site also reports that some states may distribute phone numbers while others won’t, birthdates, social security numbers, and driver’s license numbers.

The study suggested what changes needed to be made in states to protect voter information, I guess many states either overlooked the report, didn’t know it existed, or felt it not profitable to protect voter contact information. Some of the Foundation’s recommendations included: “limit collection of data on registration forms, protect sensitive voter data, prohibit commercial use of voter lists and voter registration data, and strengthen enforcement of laws that protect voter data from abuses by secondary users.”

For some registered voters, you will know exactly where a collector obtained your information by the way they address you. If you typically don’t use your middle name, but used it when you registered to vote, well they just may have obtained it from the voter list. There was only one way I filled out my recent voter registration form and I knew immediately where the organization got my information from – you guessed it the voter list! What makes me angry is that this is a collector that I have already been making payments to, but still calls me anyway looking for more money!

It’s only a matter of time that collectors will be contacting you about past due bills, maybe child support you owe, or companies looking to sell you something. I recently heard a radio commercial stating that the IRS has hired thousands more collectors. Mind you this was before Barack Obama had been elected, they already knew there would be a record number turnout; therefore, that meant more people would have updated contact information and they would be able to track them down for money owed. So while we were sending emails, reminding family and friends to register, what we didn’t know is that we were helping the IRS and other organizations, update their databases.

When I conducted more research on this issue of voter privacy, I noticed that websites such as Smart Voter (allows users to find their custom ballot and polling place by entering their street address and zip code) will not reveal your street address to anyone; however that has nothing to do with the registration form you filled out and sent to your local election office. So who gives our information out? I found the answer to that question in an article that was published in VanityFair.com back in December 2007 which reported on a voter registration broker named Aristotle. It turns out that Aristotle provides information about you to political organizations, campaigns, and governmental agencies. They are used to validate your identity. There are other voter registration brokers like Aristotle such as Choicepoint and Axciom who also provide information to the federal, state, and local government about you as well.

When I think of the registration form I filled out, I don’t recall anything in big, black, bold text stating that “…upon completion of this form your information will be shared with federal, state, and local government agencies as well as secondary users.” Now I may still have registered, but then again maybe not. Yes this was an historic election, but I’m sure there were many of us who didn’t know that by registering we would be bothered by companies and organizations from the past and the present wanting our time, money and for some, their freedom.

There was more to electing Barack Obama then meets the eye and the government knew it. Think of all of those people who were wanted by government organizations for one thing or another, so they got caught up in the moment of making history with a single vote, and now their lives will be forever changed in more ways than one. Think of all of the people who will be making payment plans with the IRS, student loan agencies, and other government organizations now that the government has their most recent name, address, and phone number. An economic boost to the economy, you be the judge or maybe jury, because it is only a matter of time you or I will be called.

Obama was going to win whether we voted or not, the government would have seen to it, (if you remember early in Obama’s campaign they caught up with him for some past due bills and he paid them.) Uncle Sam knew what kind of crowds Obama drew and what kind of money he attracted. Both in the states and overseas, Obama is a rockstar, like a name brand product, he brings in cash and a whole lot of it!

Written by Nicholl McGuire, Freelance Writer, Poet & Author
at
Labels: , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Search This Blog

Labels

a abortion about us absent fathers abuse abusive men abusive women adopted black children affirmative action africa african american african american achievers african american art african american audio books african american authors african american beauty african american bloggers african american books african american bookstores african american brothers african american business african american celebrities african american children african american chinese african american christian women african american christians african american churches african american clothing styles african american communities african american community african american cuisine african american culture african american dating african american dating sites african american deceivers african american dining african american documentaries african american drama african american drug dealers african american education african american elite african american entertainment african american family african american fathers african american friendships african american gamers african american genealogy african american gifts african american girls african american gods african american grandparents african american grants african american hair loss african american haircare african american hairstyles african american health issues african american heritage african american heterosexuality african american history african american holidays african american home owners african american homosexuality african american idols african american inventors african american korea african american lawyers african american leaders african american lifestyle african american magazines african american marriages african american media african american men african american mental illness african american ministers african american models african american mothers african american movies african american museums african american music african american music videos african american natural hair african american news african american occult african american online surfing african american opinion african american paintings African American parade african american parents african american photographers african american photography african american poets african american police officers african american political prisoners african american preachers African American producers african american prostitution african american radio shows african american relationships african american religion african american researchers african american russia african american samoan african american scholarships african american self-hate african american sex african american singles african american skin care african american skincare african american soldiers african american sons african american speakers african american spirituality african american statistics african american studies african american television networks african american thinking african american thoughts african american tips african american toys african american transhumanists african american travel african american voters african american wealth african american weaves african american wigs african american women african american women groups African American women in science african american women inventors african american workers african american writers african americans african americans and africans african americans jail african americans respect african americans workers african americans workplace african art african consciousness african decor african food african history ai tools american holidays ancestry anger management angry angry black man angry black woman angry black women angry blacks atlanta aunt tammy banks Barack Obama be encouraged bible big girls biracial people birth control bisexual black men black alliance for just immigration black american ignorance black american quotations black american racism black art websites black athletes black attitudes black business black celebrities black celebrity children black celebrity masons black cinema black conscious community black conscious women black dating services black dolls black education black elite groups black English people black family black feminists black grandmothers black greek organizations black history black history month black inventors black love black men black men and white women black music black national anthem black nationalism black panthers party black people and summer time black people attitude black preachers black racists black radio stations black scholars black singles black sitcoms black skin black stereotypes black toys black women blacks with an attitude blessings and curses blog owner boule boxer brainwashed blacks celebrities and god cheating childhood childless women children activities chris brown chris rock christina milian civil rights civil war cold-blooded african americans colorism communication communication skills community assistance confrontation construction in haiti constructive criticism contract with black america controlling black folks controlling men controlling women counselors crazy blacks crisis dark skin dating dating violence death deceased black legends depression difficult people disorders diversity domestic violence down low celebrities dreaming eastern stars ebola economics educated blacks education elderly black folks employment eugenics exes experiences faith family history family issues fat african americans fearful blacks fema camps financial assistance first black president food stamps fools fraternal organizations free stuff freemasons french african friendships funny african americans funny black man funny black people funny black woman funny stuff gay black men generational curses ghetto gifted african americans going green good black men gospel music gossip government Haiti haiti earthquake haiti fault line happiness harlem haters helpful links hidden medical experiments high blood pressure highly sensitive blacks hip hop culture hip hop fashion homosexuals honest black folk housing assistance how to approach a black woman how to get exposure on this site human trafficking hurricane relief ignorant black people illuminati insecure women inspiration internet dating interracial relationships israel jamaicans jealous men jealous women jealousy jobs juneteenth keep it real kwanzaa laboring to love an abusive mate liars light skin lottery loud mouth blacks love lust lynching make money manhood manipulative media manmade earthquakes martin luther king barack obama medicine memorial day menopause mental issues michael jackson michael jackson children mother michelle obama mike tyson mike tyson daughter military mind control minority women scholarships misogyny modern day slavery money moors motivation multiracial celebrities music lyrics music videos narcissism natural disasters negro spirituals nelson mandela nicole richie nonblack not african american Obama obama campaign Obama sworn in obese black people offended blacks old school overweight african americans paranoid paranormal patience patti labelle paula abdul pedophilia perimenopause poems police poor african americans population control positivity post traumatic slave syndrome postpartum depression poverty prayers prejudice prescriptions president barack obama president elect barack obama prideful prostate cancer and black men protests racial problems racism racist republicans rb music groups reality shows recycling reggae music relationships relatives religion revenge reverse discrimination rhianna rich african americans samples and trials SARS scammers scams scandalous pastors scary blacks schizophrenia secret societies self esteem self hate self righteous senator barack obama sex sexual harassment shopping siblings skin bleaching skull and bones slavery social issues social networking society sociopaths sometimey black folks soul food spiritual african americans spiritual warfare sports state of the union address strange black folks stubbornness superstition surveys terri seymore the man tired black man tired black woman toxic parents travel trends twitter uncle tom unemotional unemployment ungrateful black folks voter privacy war whistleblowers white american racism white people wisdom women friends work at home youtubers
Creative Commons License
African American Planet: Relationships, Education, Products & Lifestyle by Nicholl McGuire is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at africanamericanplanet.blogspot.com.

Translate