Photo by Rick Geary

Mr. B is certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

Hey, Scumbag! Can't handle the tough questions! Stick with trivia. Names, places, and dates, scumbag. You're not good enough to go for: Why does the San Diego Registrar of Voters SELL OUR NAMES AND ADDRESSES AND PHONE NUMBERS TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER! — Dick Butmouth, Normal Heights

I happen to know “Butmouth” is fake. His first two postcards had his real name on them. Guess we didn’t hop on this question quite fast enough to suit him. I considered ignoring it a while longer just to see what he’d call me next week. But Grandma Alice, queen of the mailroom here at La Casa de Preguntas, always cries when people write mean things about her kids. Already Mr. Butmouth has her boo-hooing into her apron. And anyway, the squeaky wheel gets the grease because it’s such an aggravation, so I guess I’ll give Mr. B his answer. He’s certainly the squeakiest wheel we’ve had around here for a while.

As I think you already know, Mr. B, the Registrar of Voters does not auction us off to people hawking shares in fake gold mines or “free” trips to Hawaii. The voter rolls historically have been public record, like our criminal records, fictitious business-name filings, and other public activities. In most cases, if you’re willing to do the footwork, anyone can look up this information at no charge. Voter registration information has never been available (for sale or otherwise) to businesses, and as of January 1, it’s not available in any form to the general public. The registrar’s office is still able to “sell” registration information to legally recognized political committees and candidates. Paragraph 2184 of the state Election Code specifies that the charge will be 50 cents per thousand names, and the money will be deposited into the county general fund, so I don’t think the registrar’s decorator is out shopping for antique French desk chairs with the profits. And the general fund piggybank is mostly dust bunnies, so nobody’s getting fat off your vote except the usual suspects.

The new confidentiality laws were put in place to give stalkers and other wrong-doers one less source to help track down their victims. If the new system doesn’t suit you, Mr. B, please redirect your postcards to the office of the Secretary of State and your local lawmakers who dream this stuff up in the first place. But therein may lie the heart of the problem. Since lawmakers are politicians, and politicians are the ones most eager to use the lists during campaigns, you’re up against a bigger stonewall than Granny Alice’s personal pet, Matthew.