KISSIMMEE, Fla. – An Osceola County voter said she feels shamed into voting in Tuesday's primary election.
Joan Bender said she received a mailing from a group calling itself Concerned Citizens for America's Future. The letter listed her and her neighbors' names and addresses, and whether or not they had voted in the last three elections.
"It's threatening. It's threatening language, and I can't believe that's legal," Bender said.
Under the Florida Open Records Act, finding out if a person voted or not is available to the public, but Bender said the information shouldn't be used in a threatening manner.
"After the Aug. 30, 2016, election, we intend to mail and update this chart," the letter reads. "You and your friends, your neighbors and other people you know will all know who voted and who did not."
"That's disturbing," Bender said.
News 6 set out to track down the owners of Concerned Citizens for America's Future to ask them if they thought their campaign was ethical.
A check of the website turned up a third party, which was shielding the owners.
The State of Florida business records listed an organization with the same name that hadn't been active in nearly 13 years.
News 6 found out it's not just Florida voters receiving these letters. Voters all over the country have reported receiving them.
Bender said workers at the Osceola County Supervisor of Elections Office told her they were inundated by callers complaining about the group on Monday.
Donna Brazile, interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, was in Orlando Monday night pushing people to register to vote.
"When you're out there communicating with voters, you want to get people informed, you want to get them motivated, but the last thing you want to do is to discourage them and embarrass them in some way," she told News 6.
Bender said she's exploring her legal options, and she said she's ready to fight to make sure information doesn't land in the wrong hands.
"I'm not going to stop here," she said. "I'm going to keep going until this changes."
