About half of all states allow anyone, including private companies, to buy voter lists. Virginia has one of the strictest laws in the country governing access to its lists. However, the law has been ruled unconstitutional, and the way the state enforces it has only increased confusion over its meaning. As a result, the state is coming under pressure to loosen its restrictions. Privacy advocates say it's just a matter of time before voter lists are being used by marketing companies to sell everything from shampoo to credit cards.
Most candidates buy voter lists from the state political parties.
Republicans and Democrats provide voter lists that have been merged with databases of telephone numbers and results of surveys that ask people which issues they care about. Those party- maintained lists are adequate to target direct mail on Medicare to older adults or telephone calls about gun control to suburban women in Northern Virginia. When candidates want more sensitive information, they turn to private firms that mix and match databases. One such firm is Aristotle International Inc., a political consultant with offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The State Board of Elections sold a copy of its voter registration list last year to Aristotle.