How to check for misinformation in election-related mailers

Florida voters received misleading election material in the mail this year. Ahead of November’s general election, voters across Florida are opening their mailboxes to candidate flyers and other advertisements and getting text messages from campaigns. Figuring out how to spot misleading or deceptive claims or disinformation can feel daunting. When Heidi Lepak got a mailer from what she thought was the Hillsborough County Republican Party earlier this year, she was relieved. Lepak, 80, a registered Republican, had been busy with doctor’s appointments for her disabled husband and hadn’t had time to research candidates in Florida’s primary.

The mailer gave a recommended slate. She filled out her mail-in ballot according to the recommendations and sent it in on July 15. A few days later, the county party released a public notice about a “fake voter guide” that included a list of candidates different than those the party supported. Lepak said she felt duped. She contacted her supervisor of elections office, but said she was told her vote had already been counted.

“I felt like I had the rug pulled out from under me,” Lepak said. Ahead of November’s general election, voters across Florida are opening their mailboxes to candidate flyers and other advertisements and getting text messages from campaigns. Figuring out how to spot misleading or deceptive claims or disinformation can feel daunting. The Tampa Bay Times talked to experts about how voters can scrutinize election-related material ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Here are their tips. A good place to start is to look for disclaimers that provide information on who sent the mailer, said Amy Keith, executive director of the nonpartisan advocacy group Common Cause Florida. Often, the disclaimers are found in small print at the bottom of flyers. Voters can search online for information on the political committees named in the disclaimers. The mailer that Lepak received included the party’s logo, but the disclaimer showed that it was paid for by the Make America Great Again political committee headquartered in Venice.

Hillsborough County Republican Party chairperson Carmen Edmonds estimated that about 50,000 voters in the county may have received the same guide Lepak received, which Edmonds said recommended some candidates that were more right-wing than the candidates the party actually supported. The practice of sending out such guides is becoming “all too common,” she said. When Amy Sherman, senior correspondent with PolitiFact, receives a political mailer, the first thing she asks herself is: What is it trying to make me feel? If the mailer seems slanted against a candidate or an amendment or uses partial quotes, voters should do their own research by going to trusted sources that present the facts.