Governor Tweaks Web Site After Voter OutrageNames, Addresses Published OnlinePOSTED: 6:08 pm EDT March 27,
2007 BOSTON -- A wave of voter outrage continued Tuesday after Massachusetts residents found out that the names and addresses of any registered voter is easily found on Gov. Deval Patrick's Web site.NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that advocates for victims of domestic violence joined Secretary of State William Galvin Tuesday in calling for the site to be taken down.After a day of telephone calls and negotiations, the Patrick committee refused to take down its controversial Web site. But the executive director of the governor's political committee announced they are tweaking the Web site again to make it more difficult to find voters' private information.The Web site gives any voter the chance to weigh in on virtually any issue. But first, they must find themselves on a database, which until Tuesday required only a name or telephone number and the town where they reside. Addresses, without numbers, then pop up."We still have some serious problems. My office administers the address confidentiality program that protects victims of domestic violence. We are still finding some of our clients and their current addresses on this list. This is a real problem," Galvin said."We urge the governor to take down the site for the moment and work very quickly with the secretary of state's office to insure that victims' identities, that individuals' identities are protected," said Toni Troop, of Jane Doe Inc.Patrick, however, tried to put an arm's length between himself and the political debate."Well, I think the committee should work through those concerns as I say, and I'm confident they will," Patrick said."Would you recommend to them they take this off for now and follow the suggestions of the secretary of state and Jane Doe Inc.?" Wu asked."I think the committee will work through these issues, and I'm confident that they will," Patrick said.The committee said it will not take the site down, but said that it is making further adjustments."Now when you choose to log onto the site, you have to indicate not just what your first name is, your last name is, your home city or town but you also have to include the name of the street you live on," said Liz Morningstar, of the Deval Patrick Committee.Morningstar also said by the end of Tuesday, the feature that allows users to type in a telephone number instead of name will be eliminated."We've tested now a number of instances where people put in unpublished numbers and the whole address pops up," Galvin said.Often, the names of everyone who lives at that address comes up on the Web site."We will work to guarantee that no one will become vulnerable because of this Web site," Morningstar said. "I mean, the Web site is about engaging on issues that matter to people."Galvin said he supports the governor's private campaign effort to promote his political agenda. But he said even with these changes, there is still a risk that personal information on the Web site can be accessed by those with ill intentions.Troop said the committee is moving in the right direction, but she said that she needs to see the changes before making a final judgment. Copyright 2007 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |












