COLUMBUS, Ohio (WOWO) — Thousands of Ohio residents are receiving voter registration forms and absentee ballot applications in the mail from Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit groups, prompting election officials to remind voters to carefully review the information before sending anything ba ck. The mailers can resemble official election correspondence, but they are not being sent by the Ohio Secretary of State or local boards of elections. The Center for Voter Information and the Voter Participation Center say they are responsible for sending the forms as part of a nationwide effort to encourage voter registration and participation. Tom Lopach, president and CEO of both organizations, told WCMH’s Better Call 4 that the groups are targeting communities they say are underrepresented in elections. “The Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information use high-volume direct mail and digital to outreach to underrepresented communities,” Lopach said. Lopach said the organizations are sending approximately 11.1 million voter registration applications nationwide. In Ohio, that includes 670,651 voter registration applications and 445,915 vote-by-mail applications. The volume is particularly significant in Franklin County. David Payne, deputy director of the Franklin County Board of Elections, told WCMH that his office estimates roughly 125,000 voter registration forms and another 75,000 absentee ballot application requests have been sent to residents in the county. Payne said the forms themselves are legitimate because the organizations are using Ohio’s prescribed voter registration paperwork. “They’re using the Secretary of State’s prescribed form, so that’s good,” Payne said. The concern, Payne said, is the accuracy of the information contained in some of the mailings. Election officials say voters may receive a form containing an old address or other information that is no longer accurate. That can create confusion, particularly for people who have moved or whose voting circumstances have changed. “Our main concern is that there are some information on the mailing list that’s not correct or outdated,” Payne said. “So that causes some confusion among voters.” The organizations use different sources of information depending on the type of mailing. For absentee ballot applications, Lopach said the groups rely on Ohio’s publicly available voter file. That information can show whether someone is registered and whether they have previously voted by mail. “Generally, we send vote-by-mail applications to people who vote by mail every election and need to sign up again or to newly registered voters who aren’t quite sure that voting by mail is an option,” Lopach said. Voter registration mailers are handled differently because there is no government-maintained list identifying every person who is eligible to vote but has not registered. Lopach said the groups purchase information from commercial data providers and use those lists to identify people they believe are not registered. “We will go out to commercial data sources and get giant lists of Americans and their addresses,” Lopach said. “And from that, we work with the data to find people who are not registered.” Lopach said the organizations spend about 66 cents for each voter registration or vote-by-mail mailer sent. The groups’ political activity has also drawn scrutiny. According to OpenSecrets, the Center for Voter Information spent more than $500,000 in independent expenditures opposing Republican candidates or causes during the 2023-2024 election cycle. The organization’s latest tax filing reported more than $37 million in revenue, with most of that money coming from contributions. Lopach maintains that the organizations are nonpartisan and says their focus is increasing participation among communities they consider underrepresented. “We are focused on helping underrepresented communities to register and turn out to vote,” Lopach said. The organizations’ targeting methods vary. Lopach said the Voter Participation Center generally focuses on people of color, younger voters and unmarried women, while the Center for Voter Information targets white voters over age 35 who, according to the organization, share its stated interest in a representative electorate. Ohio election officials say voters who receive the mailers should not automatically assume the paperwork is fraudulent simply because it did not come from the government. Instead, voters should review their personal information carefully and make sure any information they submit is accurate. Anyone with questions about a voter registration form or absentee ballot application can contact their county board of elections directly and verify their registration or request information about voting by mail through official election channels. Payne said election officials welcome increased voter participation while encouraging residents to verify the information they receive. “We’re excited; this is kind of our Super Bowl, the election. And we’re proud of what we do here,” Payne said. For Ohio voters who are uncertain about an election-related mailing, the safest point of contact is the local county board of elections, which can verify registration information and explain the official process for requesting an absentee ballot. The post Thousands of Ohio Voters Receive Registration, Absentee Ballot Forms From D.C.-Based Groups appeared first on WOWO News/Talk 92.3 FM and 1190 AM. ...read more read less