Register to vote - and watch out for mailers

Brace yourself. Election season is picking up momentum, and citizens can expect at least another month’s worth of robocalls from campaign phone banks and blaring TV ads.

You may have also found another alarming symptom of midterm fever: mysterious mailers warning that you may not be properly registered to vote. If they look suspicious to you — you are right.

Two of these official-looking letters landed in my post office box, warning, “Someone at this address may not be registered to vote.” For a citizen who is passionate about participating in the democratic process, that was upsetting. The mailers include voter registration applications calling for detailed personal information, including birth date, race or ethnic group and a state-mandated ID number. That raised a red flag.

A quick internet search revealed the sender, “The Center For Voter Information,” is indeed a controversial organization, not affiliated with any governmental election office.

Grant County Clerk Marisa Castrillo confirmed my concerns. “My office will not mail anything out to you unless you request it. These are third-party mailers that we have no control over,” she said, adding that if residents have any concerns about their voter registration status, they are welcome to call her office.

In Curry County, the clerk is Annie Hogland and she can be reached at 575-763-5591. Mandi Park is Roosevelt County clerk. That number is 575-356-8562.

While some third-party voter-registration groups may be benign, some, Castrillo said, are not. Residents should be especially careful about responding to any that ask for money. And of course, these days it is vitally important to guard your personal information.

Even those whose intentions are legitimate are problematic. “They aren’t good for you or for us,” Castrillo explained. The forms they send out are not always accurate, and they create confusion.

Unfortunately, she told me that she worries that residents are likely to see lots more third-party mailers in the coming weeks.

“Just call us,” she reiterated. “We are happy to answer questions or to mail out an absentee ballot.”

Voter registration for early, online and absentee voting closes Oct. 11. Early voting will be available from Oct. 11 to Nov. 5, and Election Day is Nov. 8.

The good news about all of the hullabaloo surrounding this year’s midterm election is that now, more than ever, we are hyper-aware of the important roles our state legislators and federal congressmen play in our lives. So please make sure you are registered to vote, and informed about the choices that will be on your ballot.

— Nan Chalat Noaker

Silver City Daily Press