A Democratic super PAC aligned with Vice President Kamala Harris is airing television ads in urban areas with large black populations warning residents that their voter files are public.
One of the ads, funded by Future Forward PAC, gives the false impression that it is aired by a government agency called the "National Voter Report." The ad begins with an "election alert" with the words "Who you vote for is private, but IF you vote is public information. After this election, your voter record will be updated, and your friends and family will be able to see how often you vote." The video contains an image resembling the official U.S. seal in the background.
There is no federal or state law that compels U.S. citizens to vote. Although states keep a record of which elections individual voters participated in, such information is often difficult or confusing for the average person to access.
Future Forward did not respond to a request for comment.
The more-than-$500,000 ad campaign appears to be targeted exclusively at various metropolitan areas, according to data obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The bulk of the ads are airing in the Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit, and Milwaukee markets.
Those cities are all in swing states that Democrats won in 2020 and are home to millions of voters who are considered critical to the party's chances this November. President Joe Biden's victory last cycle was due in large part to high turnout among black and inner-city voters.
But there are signs that the Democrats' grip on the minority vote is slipping, with polls showing former president Donald Trump poised to perform better with black men and Hispanics than any Republican in decades. How those voters ultimately swing could decide the election and offset Republican losses among college-educated whites and women.
Such concerns from Democrats likely explain Future Forward's latest ad campaign. Another version of the ad from the group reiterates the same message, with the same public service announcement style: "Remember, who you vote for is secret, but whether you vote is public information. … After the election, your voting record will be updated based on your participation on Nov. 5, so vote."
Future Forward will spend at least $700 million boosting Harris and other Democratic candidates' campaigns this cycle, public records show. The New York Times reported earlier this month that the group has "commissioned 655 potential ads from 25 different ad makers" about Harris.
Most of the group's largest donors come from Silicon Valley and include LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, the Times reported on Wednesday, cut a $50 million check to Future Forward this cycle as well.