To: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Democratic National Committee Chairperson
Don't shoot the messenger: reinstate the Bernie Sanders campaign access to VAN data
We call on the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to stop penalizing the Bernie Sanders campaign for reporting a security breach from the voter data vendor NGP VAN. Just 6 weeks from Iowa, the DNC has barred Sanders access to the voter file, crippling grassroots efforts. The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN Politics, and Buzzfeed have reported that no Clinton data was taken, the Sanders campaign responsibly reported the breach promptly, and that NGP VAN has a history of these internal firewall security failures. Discipline the vender, don't shoot the messenger!
Why is this important?
The process to decide our next president is just as important as who is ultimately elected. For our democracy to have real meaning, the process must have integrity - not only to trust the results but to build trust with the next generation of voters. The DNC's responsibility to protect this trust, and its unjustified penalties targeting the essential tool of grassroots voter data damages this trust. Not only does it look favorable to the leading candidate (who would like to win the nomination with the support of the whole party), but it looks like the DNC does not want data breaches reported. Protecting voter data is also essential for building within the party and with potential supporters. Punishing the messenger damages the entire nomination process. Let's hold the DNC & NGP VAN accountable!
(For background on the data breach and the DNC's response: go to the NYT reporting http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/18/sanders-campaign-disciplined-for-breaching-clinton-data/)
(For background on the data breach and the DNC's response: go to the NYT reporting http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/12/18/sanders-campaign-disciplined-for-breaching-clinton-data/)