The campaign for Republican presidential contender Ted Cruz was slammed on Saturday because of a mailer that was sent out to potential Iowa voters that seemed created to look like an official notice warning recipients about “low voter turnout in your area”.
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On the other side, headlined ” “VOTING VIOLATION”, were the names of Hinkeldey’s wife and several of their neighbors, along with abysmal grades for their voter participation.
Ted Cruz sent out a mailer telling Iowans their neighbors would find out if they choose not to caucus.
A spokeswoman for the Cruz campaign confirmed Saturday that the mailers were sent by the campaign.
He says “if you had told me a year ago that two days out from the Iowa caucuses we would be neck and neck effectively tied for first place in the state of Iowa, I would have been thrilled”.
Cruz’s campaign was probably aware of this, since former Iowa Secretary of State Matt Schultz is chairman of his Iowa campaign.
Cruz struck a defiant tone in a swift response: “I apologize to nobody for using every tool we can to encourage Iowa voters to come out and vote”, he said at a press conference in Sioux City on Saturday evening. The mailer contained a heading that read “Official Public Document” and was billed as a “Voting Violation” notice.
“There is no such thing as an election violation related to frequency of voting”, he continued in a statement. “They are available for purchase for political purposes only, under Iowa Code”.
‘Nor does the Secretary of State maintain records related to Iowa Caucus participation. Schultz said in a statement “Our mailer was modeled after the very successful 2014 mailers that the Republican Party of Iowa distributed to motivate Republican voters to vote”. Also, the Iowa Secretary of State does not “distribute” voter records.
An image of the mailer, yellow with an all-caps header in red reading “Voting Violation”, was shared on Twitter by Tom Hinkeldey of Alta, Iowa.
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These type of “voter grade” mailers have been used by party organizations and political action committees, and political scientists have found they are effective in increasing turnout.
