A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.

14 October 2016

MT SecST McCulloch makes rare partisan misstep
with release of Corey Stapleton's voting records

Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch wanted to help fellow Democrat Monica Lindeen, who is locked in a tight election with Republican Corey Stapleton to become Montana’s next Secretary of State. Therefore, McCulloch, presumably on her own time, examined the publicly available voting records for Stapleton and Lindeen, discovered that Stapleton didn’t vote in several elections, decided to share that information with the voters, and wrote a letter with the dirty details to the editor of the Helena Independent Record.

Stapleton was outraged. He disputes the accuracy of McCulloch’s charges, reports Holly Michels of the Lee Newspapers.

Montana’s voter registration file, which reports whether currently registered voters cast ballots in the elections on record, is available to all Montanans — for a price. Stapleton’s record would be found in the $100 voter file for his legislative district. Presumably, McCulloch plunked down $100 for the information, same as every Joe or Jill Voter would have done.

Voter information is also available from private databases, such as i-360, the progressive oriented Catalist, and L2. These databases include official voter registration records, and much more. Here’s how i-360, used by Montana’s Republicans, describes its data product:

As a first-of-its-kind enterprise, i360 fully integrates and continually updates a database of all 250 million 18+ Americans, including the 190 million who are registered to vote. The information in the i360 database goes beyond voting data and includes hundreds of variables on every individual including survey response data, consumer demographic, lifestyle and behavioral data, census data and precinct level election returns, and more that can be used to determine and reach your targets.

i360’s comprehensive data is a unique combination of hard data points and predictive modeling. Our dataset incorporates extensive political identification, coalition and membership information collected by way of in-person, phone and online surveys, as well as through partner relationships. In addition, this data is enhanced by our team of data scientists who build and refine sophisticated predictive models (microtargeting) that predict how likely voters are to support issues, candidates and how likely they are to take an action, like voting.

Assuming that McCulloch, who has been a competent Secretary of State, didn’t abuse her official position while researching Stapleton’s and Lindeen’s voting history, she was within her rights as a citizen.

But she wasn’t within her right mind.

She did more than take a cheap shot at Stapleton. She cheapened her office by behaving as a political partisan instead of as an impartial professional, and may have undermined the public’s trust in herself, her office, her political party, and in Monica Lindeen, the person she was trying to help.