Are you handling the database these days, or is Bryce still doing that? If we've got a handle on it with the new software, it would be nice to see regular tracking of the data (i.e. how many registered Libs in each district compared to other parties).
I think the $3 "at cost" price for the voters CD is only for candidates, and anyone else would have to pay more. Fortunately, we do have a candidate for Mayor right now. I got 2 CDs myself, one at the beginning, and another at the end, of my campaign last year. Three months apart -- exact same data. I guess you get what you pay for.
At least it explains why I keep getting all of these Democratic National Committee and Planned Parenthood mailings -- the government lists are so bad, that everyone just buys lists from "like-minded" groups -- in my case, Human Rights Campaign and ACLU (both of which did so much stupid stuff during the month I was on vacation, that I'll not likely renew either).
BTW, Terry, I haven't looked at the state LP database lately -- does it include things like electoral districts? Just for state, or also for local? I do know that at least the local elections department CD has the 11 local districts of SF, so it's easy to filter the Access database.
Rob
From: tlfloyd3 [mailto:tlfloyd3@comcast.net]
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 8:21 AM
To: lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [lpsf-discuss] Re: Structure In The Pursuit of Strategy
The LP's registered voter list comes from the same source, the only source for this data: The California Secretary of State's office. This is the same office that provides the data to the counties. I agree that it's highly unreliable, but it's a government operation, so I don't expect much from them. That's why we no longer send blind mailings to registered voters, since so many of the addresses are bad. Having also worked as a precinct inspector, clerk, and judge since 1996, I know that database corrections do not always get updated, and there are plenty of gravestones in the registered voter database. I've worked at the same precinct for three different elections since 2000, and some of the same dead people keep showing up on the list, even though I know that I submitted the corrections for these deceased voters three years ago.
Still $3 is an amazing price. Alameda County charges $50 for the same data on CD-ROM, and $1 per page if you want a hardcopy printout (useful sometimes for candidates who just want precincts in the district for which they are running).
But no matter whether you get the list from the LPC or your own county, it is still essentially the same database. But if you get the entire list of all registered voters for $3 and it is only 60 days old as opposed to 90 days, you would be better off going to your local registrar.
Terry Floyd
From: Christopher R. Maden [mailto:crism@…]
Sent: Monday, August 25, 2003 12:23 AM
To: lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [lpsf-discuss] Re: Structure In The Pursuit of Strategy
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
>Getting that info from the Registrar of Voters is a pain in the ass,
>and they usually only give you free access to the data 30 days before
>a general election. Any other time of the year, they usually charge
>you for either a CD-ROM or a printout of the list.
San Francisco is actually quite good about this. The CD costs $3.
>But the LPC has all of that information available for activists.
The LPC's records for San Francisco are highly unreliable. This was the
case when they first went on line, and have never quite caught up. I
prefer to get the data from the horse's mouth (even when it's the Trojan
horse of government).
Thanks for the info, though.
~Chris
- --
Conservative, n. A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as
distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to replace them with others.
~Ambrose Bierce / Freelance text nerd: <URL: http://crism.maden.org/ >
PGP Fingerprint: BBA6 4085 DED0 E176 D6D4 5DFC AC52 F825 AFEC 58DA
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP Personal Privacy 6.5.8
iQA/AwUBP0m5SqxS+CWv7FjaEQL7JQCfSZmD33su2EbZTCPQn5gJES7UlU8AoJcX
X1gyFGNJg6yMFAzfhcaD6iew
=YHTB
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lpsf-discuss-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
lpsf-discuss-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.