Holy violative of peoples privacy: Political experts react to release of private voter information [Video]

PEORIA (25News Now) – For weeks, at least two republican publications have been releasing voter information, including names, birth dates, addresses, and whether or not Central Illinois voters participated in the 2020 election.

Professor Meghan Leonard in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University says she finds the publications angering in terms of research, ethics, and privacy.

“It’s angering. Those of us who study and research all aspects of the political systems have access to sensitive data and we work very hard to protect people’s information when we do surveys and when we get information about voting, so to have that information just be shared in a way that’s holy violative of people’s privacy I think is hugely problematic,” Leonard said.

The information released on the McLean County Times and Peoria Standard does not include the actual vote, but Leonard says it raises questions about the safety of a vote.

“You have the right to vote, you have the right …