GOP letter misfires

McCain mailer has Dems calling Tuteur to confirm registration

By BILL KISLIUK
Register Editor

A campaign fundraising letter got people on the horn in Napa County in recent days, but not in the way Republican presidential candidate John McCain might have hoped.

About a dozen registered voters contacted the Napa County Elections Department after receiving a letter from the Republican National Committee stating that the recipients were registered Republicans and asking for their help with the McCain campaign.

The problem? Many of the recipients of the letter were Democrats.

Several called Napa County Registrar John Tuteur — both to make sure they hadn’t been registered incorrectly and to register a complaint about the mailer.

“Our office has been inundated with calls from voters who believe that their registration information is incorrect in our files,” said Napa County Registrar John Tuteur, in a prepared statement. Tuteur said the voter rolls are accurate, but that the mailer was not.

“This presidential election is too important to have either party sending out confusing material,” said Tuteur.

Republican National Committee staffers did not return calls and e-mail seeking comment by press time.

The letter states, “Right now, we have you registered as a Republican, living in the Napa area of California. Is this correct? Generally, can we count on your vote and support as a Republican than a Democrat on Nov. 4?”

The letter than encourages recipients to return a “Party Affiliation Voter Registration Card” and contribute to the McCain campaign.

Tuteur noted that he received one of the letters at home, as well.

“The only voter registration record should be our records,” said Tuteur. “The complication was they were confirming the party’s records.”

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