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kpete

(71,867 posts)
Fri Mar 31, 2017, 10:02 AM Mar 2017

WHY Did Russia Hack the Voter Rolls?

“This is a three-headed operation,” said one former official, setting out the case, based on the intelligence: Firstly, hackers steal damaging emails from senior Democrats. Secondly, the stories based on this hacked information appear on Twitter and Facebook, posted by thousands of automated “bots”, then on Russia’s English-language outlets, RT and Sputnik, then right-wing US “news” sites such as Infowars and Breitbart, then Fox and the mainstream media. Thirdly, Russia downloads the online voter rolls.

The voter rolls are said to fit into this because of “microtargeting”. Using email, Facebook and Twitter, political advertising can be tailored very precisely: individual messaging for individual voters.

“You are stealing the stuff and pushing it back into the US body politic,” said the former official, “you know where to target that stuff when you’re pushing it back.”

This would take co-operation with the Trump campaign
, it is claimed.


http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39435786

Of course the last sentence is critical. It ties in to the testimony today of former FBI special agent Clint Watts who discussed Russia’s “active measures,” a technique “dating back to the days of the KGB and the Cold War of dispensing disinformation and propaganda in order to influence events within another country, particularly the United States.” Watts said that the reason Putin’s efforts were so prevalent and effective in the 2016 presidential election is simple – because “the Commander-in-Chief has used Russian active measures at times, against his opponents.”[/b]

http://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/03/30/why-did-russia-hack-the-voter-rolls/

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WHY Did Russia Hack the Voter Rolls? (Original Post) kpete Mar 2017 OP
Voter rolls are public records. longship Mar 2017 #1
No, no ... they're clearly talking about voter data bases frazzled Mar 2017 #2

longship

(40,416 posts)
1. Voter rolls are public records.
Fri Mar 31, 2017, 10:36 AM
Mar 2017

No need to hack them. Usually just have to pay a small fee for a digital copy.

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
2. No, no ... they're clearly talking about voter data bases
Fri Mar 31, 2017, 11:50 AM
Mar 2017

Not about simply a list of registered voters. That is why the Russians would have to have gotten it through the Trump campaign (or less probably, the RNC). Why do you think Bernie Sanders screamed so loudly when he was chastised and denied access for a few days to the DNC voter data base? If he could get the "voter rolls" easily and cheaply via public means, that would not have been necessary. None of the following information is attainable from voter rolls. To micro-target voters, you need far more information, and it is crazy expensive to obtain through specialized software firms:

Personal data frequently included in a voter database:

Name
Physical address
Mailing address
Phone number
Party membership or affiliation
Voting history (including federal, sub-national, primary, municipal, or special election voting history)
Absentee or military voter designations
Source of voter registration, i.e., DMV/MVA, Public Assistance Office, etc.
Ethnicity or emerges race hypothesis
Gender
Birth date or age range
Data that may be added via commercial routes:

"Extreme voters" status (voters who vote very frequently)
Homeownership
Hunting or fishing license holders
Boat owners
Concealed Weapon Permit Holders
Occupation such as physical therapist, teacher, etc.
Charitable or political contributions
Magazine subscription status

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_database
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