Pro-Jones group warns ‘your vote is public record’ in misleading ad

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December 5, 2017

A political ad being broadcast throughout the state warns Alabama voters that “your community will know” whether you do anything to keep Roy Moore from winning the Senate election next Tuesday.

Why this matters: The ad, paid for by a group called “Highway 31,” states that your vote is public record. The ad’s language is misleading. The candidate you choose to vote for is never kept for public record, and indeed is never known by anybody but you, unless you choose to tell people.

The details:

— “If you don’t vote and Roy Moore – a child predator – wins, could you live with that?” the ad asks. “Your vote is public record, and your community will know whether or not you helped stop Roy Moore. On Tuesday, December 12, vote for Doug Jones for Senate.”

— Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill called the ad a “targeted effort to misinform and confuse voters” in a statement Tuesday.

— “No individual voting record is made available to anyone at any time, including the voter who cast the ballot,” Merrill also said.

— The ad distorts this truth: There is a public record of whether or not you vote, but not for whom you cast your ballot.

— The Jones campaign could not be immediately reached for comment regarding the ad.

— According to the Federal Election Commission, Highway 31 is an unauthorized political committee, which means that it has not been authorized or endorsed by Doug Jones.