How Do Politicians Get Names and Addresses...

Ptotty

Hi there,
Does anyone know how politicians can get the names and addresses of citizens who are not on the registrar,not on the electorate and are also not in any directory like a phone book,etc?
Is it legal for politicians to get names and addresses from/off Post Office lists?
I have recently moved house and I am wondering how my personal details have been found and how I am now being harassed by letters and people calling sent by said local politician.
Your help would be appreciated.

mikemac

Well one my teachers went on to be a TD and every student in 6th class were in or around voting age, we all got a standard letter.

So I can only assume she used names and addresses from the school database.

I've no idea if it was legal or not.
It was party headed paper so she wasn't using school resources or anything.
But she had all our name and addresses.

Hazlittle

When politicians or volunteers call to your door they take a record of how you vote and your opinions. Everything is kept on a big computer. TDs are allowed the addresses of the electorate but are technically not allowed to show it to the volunteers.

seamus

Hazlittle wrote: »

When politicians or volunteers call to your door they take a record of how you vote and your opinions.

I'd be surprised if they did that as it would be a nightmare to maintain and shaky enough to use for marketing. The Data Protection Act would limit the information they could keep, how long they can keep it for and what they can use it for.
On top of that, one of the fundamental tenats of voting in Ireland is around the private ballot and one's right to hold a private opinion, so taking a record of how people vote would be ethically unsound at best.

Besides, they would need to speak to you to get this information and I don't answer the door to these people. Though a FF TD caught me when I arrived home one day and he never asked me for my name nor how I intended to vote.

TDs are allowed the addresses of the electorate but are technically not allowed to show it to the volunteers.

The register of electors contains the name and address of everyone registered to vote in this country. It can be used for "electoral or other statutory purposes". The edited register is a subset of this list which can be used for marketing. If the full register is used for anything except "electoral or other statutory purposes", this is a criminal offence.

You can contact the relevant politician's office and demand to know where they got your details from. You can also demand that they do not contact you and assuming that you have no affiliation with them (and thus they have no need to have your name & address) you can demand that they delete your personal information from their database.

Hazlittle

seamus wrote: »

I'd be surprised if they did that as it would be a nightmare to maintain and shaky enough to use for marketing. The Data Protection Act would limit the information they could keep, how long they can keep it for and what they can use it for.
On top of that, one of the fundamental tenats of voting in Ireland is around the private ballot and one's right to hold a private opinion, so taking a record of how people vote would be ethically unsound at best.

Besides, they would need to speak to you to get this information and I don't answer the door to these people. Though a FF TD caught me when I arrived home one day and he never asked me for my name nor how I intended to vote.

Dont know what the law is but a lot of politicians I know collect the following information.
Name, address, how they voted last time, how they pan to vote next time, what are your main concerns.

I have held in my hand maps with areas marked out as such and such voters. They do exist.

seamus wrote: »

The register of electors contains the name and address of everyone registered to vote in this country. It can be used for "electoral or other statutory purposes". The edited register is a subset of this list which can be used for marketing. If the full register is used for anything except "electoral or other statutory purposes", this is a criminal offence.

You can contact the relevant politician's office and demand to know where they got your details from. You can also demand that they do not contact you and assuming that you have no affiliation with them (and thus they have no need to have your name & address) you can demand that they delete your personal information from their database.

So would sending Christmas cards or canvassing with the info be illegal?

Ptotty

Thanks for the input people.
Here's what I don't understand.
Person moves to a new location.
Neighbours don't know who they are or nothing about them.
No one has called to the house or asked me anything.
No officialdom knows of this move such as corporate Companies,Co.councils,Government bodies,etc of any kind that this person now resides at this new address.
They are not on the voting register or the county electorate.
The only service I told my name and new address to was the local Post Office.
Do Politicians have the right to access the post office customer lists?
Surely not?
I wonder what An Post would think of this and I wonder what their privacy policy is regarding their lists being used for something other than delivering customers post?
Now I know this may look and read like some sort of paranoia.:D
But surely a person who lives on this island of Ireland has the right to some privacy when they want it.
Also I would be very interested to see if this well known local politician is bending the rules to suit their own needs/wants.
But hey,would we really be surprised if that was the case!:rolleyes:

Paddy Samurai

Ptotty wrote: »

Hi there,
Does anyone know how politicians can get the names and addresses of citizens who are not on the registrar,not on the electorate and are also not in any directory like a phone book,etc?
Is it legal for politicians to get names and addresses from/off Post Office lists?
I have recently moved house and I am wondering how my personal details have been found and how I am now being harassed by letters and people calling sent by said local politician.
Your help would be appreciated.

A lot of business's use thoms directory to find people in dublin. Not sure how it works ,or where they get their info from.But they seem to have most peoples names,addresses in there.


http://www.thoms.ie/content/streetdir.asp

ninty9er

Hazlittle wrote: »

Dont know what the law is but a lot of politicians I know collect the following information.
Name, address, how they voted last time, how they pan to vote next time, what are your main concerns.

I have held in my hand maps with areas marked out as such and such voters. They do exist.

Politicians have no way of know how you voted, they can however tell if you HAVE voted. Main concerns are something gathered whilst canvassing.

Victor

Have family or frined ratted on you?

The school example was probably a breach of the Data Protection Act.

As kids in 6th class voting ... :pac:

mikemac

Ah 6th class, 6th year, same thing

Hazlittle

ninty9er wrote: »

Politicians have no way of know how you voted, they can however tell if you HAVE voted. Main concerns are something gathered whilst canvassing.

They ask and write it down and assume people tell the truth.

Essexboy

Ptotty wrote: »

Thanks for the input people.
Here's what I don't understand.
Person moves to a new location.
Neighbours don't know who they are or nothing about them.
No one has called to the house or asked me anything.
No officialdom knows of this move such as corporate Companies,Co.councils,Government bodies,etc of any kind that this person now resides at this new address.
They are not on the voting register or the county electorate.
The only service I told my name and new address to was the local Post Office.
Do Politicians have the right to access the post office customer lists?
Surely not?
I wonder what An Post would think of this and I wonder what their privacy policy is regarding their lists being used for something other than delivering customers post?
Now I know this may look and read like some sort of paranoia.:D
But surely a person who lives on this island of Ireland has the right to some privacy when they want it.
Also I would be very interested to see if this well known local politician is bending the rules to suit their own needs/wants.
But hey,would we really be surprised if that was the case!:rolleyes:

If you live in a rural area, it could be your County Council who is to blame. They employ "field officers" one of whose jobs seems to be checking on who moves into their area.

expectationlost

ninty9er wrote: »

Politicians have no way of know how you voted, they can however tell if you HAVE voted. Main concerns are something gathered whilst canvassing.

still don't reckon its right to hold that info on you

Skrynesaver

A certain TD who abstained on the Stag hunting bill sent letters to registered gun club members in the area on the assumption that they were supporters of the Ward Union.

The question is, how did they get access to gun club membership lists as these lists effectively provide a "houses with shotguns" map for any gouger and should not be released to anyone.

Would said TD or the person who supplied the list have broken the data protection act?

Victor

Skrynesaver wrote: »

Would said TD or the person who supplied the list have broken the data protection act?

Possibly both, possibly neither.

simonj

The electorial register

ninty9er

expectationlost wrote: »

still don't reckon its right to hold that info on you

They don't hold it, it's publicly accessible.

expectationlost

ninty9er wrote: »

They don't hold it, it's publicly accessible.

no its not