Elections Officials Warn Voters About Austin-Originated Letters

AUSTIN, TX — The office of the Texas Secretary of State is warning residents to beware of mailers purporting to offer guidance to voters, a move heightened after third-party mailers with an Austin return address recently were received by the electorate in other states.

Patch last week was notified by news partner ProPublica of residents elsewhere receiving correspondence from a group calling itself "Election Mail Service" originating from an Austin post office box. Residents from Alabama to Florida have reported receiving the mailers, according to ProPublica's "Electionland" tip desk.

The mailed materials reportedly contain errors, including inaccurate personal information on pre-filled forms and references to voter websites that are out of date, the tip desk alerted Patch. The office of the Alabama Secretary of State was prompted to warn its residents amid reports of the Election Mail Service correspondence bearing an official-looking seal.

"The Secretary of State’s Office has been made aware of another third-party organization contacting voters with outdated and inaccurate information to encourage voter registration and voter participation," Alabama elections officials wrote on their website Oct. 1. "The letter, which is sent by the Election Mail Service out of Austin, Texas, encourages voters to visit ALVotes.org — a site that is not associated whatsoever with the Office of the Secretary of State. The letter notifies voters that they are not registered to vote and includes an unofficial voter registration application."

Alabama election officials included a photo of the correspondence as part of their warning to voters:

Added Alabama Secretary of State John H. Merrill: “After being notified by numerous voters who have received information in the mail addressed to people who have passed away or no longer reside in our state, our office immediately contacted the Election Mail Service to stop spreading the false information, which has in turn only confused and misled voters.”

Merrill wrote that voters across Alabama had received the letters containing "...misspelled, misinformed and misleading data."

Patch reached out to the office of the Texas Secretary of State to determine if Lone Star State residents had reported receiving the mailings. Stephen Chang, the director of communications for the government agency, said his office had not received complaints from voters tied to the mailings: "In regards to your inquiry, our office is not aware of efforts by this group," he wrote succinctly.

However, the spokesman said Texas Secretary of State Ruth R. Hughs has taken steps previously to prevent misinformation while looking to their state and local officials as their trusted sources for election information. To that end, Hughs last year joined other secretaries from across the U.S. in participating in the #TrustedInfo2020 effort launched by the National Association of Secretaries of State to avert voter misinformation, Chang said.

"Ahead of the November general election, we encourage Texans to continue to do so to ensure that they are receiving the most accurate and up-to-date information regarding our elections," Change wrote in his emailed response to Patch.