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Botany

(76,589 posts)
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:08 PM Yesterday

Attn Act Blue

I am a lifelong Democratic supporter, worker, and voter but Act Blue’s selling of my name and
contact information has made me rethink my position on supporting dems and not one more
penny from me to those shits connected to Act Blue. I block every text I get asking for money from
different democratic candidates. Also the failure of the democrats to call out Trump and Musk’s
election corruption and interference pisses me off too.

33 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Attn Act Blue (Original Post) Botany Yesterday OP
Does Act Blue provide our contact info to other candidates? yellow dahlia Yesterday #1
I believe they sell our information to other candidates. Botany Yesterday #2
That gets a big old laugh out of me. yellow dahlia Yesterday #3
Isabel Crawley to Lady Violet*, "How you hate to be wrong." niyad Yesterday #15
Yes. A fabulous character. yellow dahlia Yesterday #25
If it were just candidates, maybe I could live with that. Bluetus Yesterday #6
Interesting. Thanks for the info. yellow dahlia Yesterday #10
We need to find out Wallace-Jones' number and text her our disapproval. Totally Tunsie 21 hrs ago #28
We don't know the facts. We should not assume the worst. She has a facebook account Bluetus 21 hrs ago #29
No, they don't progressoid Yesterday #9
Hmmm. Yet more information. yellow dahlia Yesterday #11
That's the letter I received too dickthegrouch Yesterday #13
I seem to remember some small print saying I agree to blah blah. quaint Yesterday #4
I agree we deserve to know what ActBlue does with our info Bluetus Yesterday #5
They don't sell your name. But lots of other people do including the DNC progressoid Yesterday #7
Thanks for more follow up. yellow dahlia Yesterday #12
Thanks prigressoid ... you bring useful facts once again... KPN Yesterday #17
Please retract your OP because it is incorrect. W_HAMILTON Yesterday #8
Retract? Edit would be sufficient, no? KPN Yesterday #18
Edit it with what? The point was to blame and criticize ActBlue for something they don't actually even do. W_HAMILTON Yesterday #24
She said a couple other things in the post. So to be clear, you want Botany to retract everything he or she wrote, KPN 21 hrs ago #30
It was all about criticism stemming from an entirely false claim and... W_HAMILTON 13 hrs ago #31
Who could have imagined? Another silly conspiracy theory attacking Democrats! lol tritsofme Yesterday #26
There's a better way to donate. Qutzupalotl Yesterday #14
I get e-mails from Democrats looking for money and daily texts purporting to be from Mark Kelly. TomSlick Yesterday #16
I know this- James48 Yesterday #19
Recommended , I posted something similar without even seeing your Tribetime Yesterday #20
It's likely "third party brokers" or even "friends" of the candidate you donated to. progressoid 3 hrs ago #32
Ty progressoid Tribetime 1 hr ago #33
Were they hacked? Does our criminal federal goverment have something to do with it? mysteryowl Yesterday #21
ditto joanbarnes Yesterday #22
If you are happy withTrump, keep your money in your pocket. Fichefinder Yesterday #23
My experience Tadams01KC Yesterday #27

yellow dahlia

(5,043 posts)
1. Does Act Blue provide our contact info to other candidates?
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:17 PM
Yesterday

Is that why we get contacted by so many candidates?

Botany

(76,589 posts)
2. I believe they sell our information to other candidates.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:19 PM
Yesterday

But I might be wrong for the first time in my life.

yellow dahlia

(5,043 posts)
3. That gets a big old laugh out of me.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:23 PM
Yesterday


There is a plaque in the Dahlia house that says - "Let's assume I'm right, it'll save time".

niyad

(130,201 posts)
15. Isabel Crawley to Lady Violet*, "How you hate to be wrong."
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:28 PM
Yesterday

Lady Violet, "I wouldn't know. I am not familiar with the sensation." Rings briskly for tea.

*Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Bluetus

(2,424 posts)
6. If it were just candidates, maybe I could live with that.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:38 PM
Yesterday

But I am slammed every day by no-name "organizations" that simply say "ICE is killing people. Send us some money." They never say who they are or what my donation might be used for. They are just scams, and they are poisoning the well for all the legitimate candidates that need our support. I don't know if ActBlue is feeding those scammers. Perhaps somebody could invite the head of ActBlue to contribute an article to DU explaining what they really do and what they do with our contact info.

The ACtBlue CEO is Regina Wallace-Jones. It seems like it would be in everyone's interest for her to make a guest appearance at this forum to set the record straight.

Totally Tunsie

(11,639 posts)
28. We need to find out Wallace-Jones' number and text her our disapproval.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 10:32 PM
21 hrs ago

Perhaps, if she were to receive thousands of unwanted texts, she's get our message!

Bluetus

(2,424 posts)
29. We don't know the facts. We should not assume the worst. She has a facebook account
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 10:42 PM
21 hrs ago

Why don't you send her a private message and express the concerns, suggesting that she write an article for the DU community to address those concerns? We might find out that those "a friend of a cousin has a co-worker who heard somebody say" rumors aren't really true.

Her FB account is https://www.facebook.com/reginawallacejones/mentions/

progressoid

(52,704 posts)
9. No, they don't
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:44 PM
Yesterday
We Never Sell Your Information: ActBlue does not sell your contact information to anyone. Ever. When you donate through ActBlue, your information goes directly to the candidate or organization you chose to support. If you’re getting unwanted messages from other campaigns, that’s because some campaigns share and sell donor information, not because ActBlue sold your data.

https://www.actblue.com/posts/actblue-takes-action-how-were-protecting-donors-from-deceptive-practices/

dickthegrouch

(4,363 posts)
13. That's the letter I received too
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 05:40 PM
Yesterday

They went a little further in that government mandated reporting contains a lot of the personal info that we have to give the campaigns and candidates that we donate to.
That information is public.
They don't bother to tell us that.
And they don't apparently prohibit their recipients from mining that publicly available data (as if they could)
It is a MORAL failing of each of those campaigns and causes, and candidates that they assume impunity to solicit us.
I also mark every solicitation as SPAM and delete it.
I got three within 5 minutes from Alexander Vindman this morning.
I got more than 40 a day just prior to the election.

Like you I don't trust any organization or candidate that I've never previously heard of.
There's never been an adequate refutation of The Mothership Vortex fraud exposed last year.
ActBlue and the Candidates are complicit in that.
https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20544375


quaint

(4,744 posts)
4. I seem to remember some small print saying I agree to blah blah.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:27 PM
Yesterday

It pissed me off so I closed out. Unfortunately, it would not have been my first donation, just the first time I read the small print. At first I tried individually unsubscribing, no luck, now they are *all* spam.

Not certain, but I think ActBlue collects at the direction of the DNC. If they don't need my donation unless I agree to receive 60 emails a day, eff 'em.

end rant

Bluetus

(2,424 posts)
5. I agree we deserve to know what ActBlue does with our info
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:32 PM
Yesterday

I'm not at the point of boycotting ActBlue. On the contrary, this seems to be a truly essential part of the left's financial infrastructure. We need ActBlue to be strong. But they also must be transparent about the use of information.

I would caution that the RW understands how important ActBlue has become and you may be reacting to RW propaganda/gaslighting -- I don't know. I do know that the RW fears the fundraising ActBlue enables so we should all be on teh lookout for misinformation about ActBlue.

Having said all that, I truly despise the 2-10 texts I get for generic-sounding websites every day. They are all of the same form, "Trump is doing {some terrible thing}. Send us some money" I bet 99% of these are scams, and I hope ActBlue is not supplying them the phone numbers.

progressoid

(52,704 posts)
7. They don't sell your name. But lots of other people do including the DNC
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:42 PM
Yesterday
We Never Sell Your Information: ActBlue does not sell your contact information to anyone. Ever. When you donate through ActBlue, your information goes directly to the candidate or organization you chose to support. If you’re getting unwanted messages from other campaigns, that’s because some campaigns share and sell donor information, not because ActBlue sold your data.
https://www.actblue.com/posts/actblue-takes-action-how-were-protecting-donors-from-deceptive-practices/




The third-party brokers who make millions selling your data to political groups

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/04/the-third-party-brokers-who-make-millions-selling-your-data-to-political-groups/


W_HAMILTON

(10,188 posts)
8. Please retract your OP because it is incorrect.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 04:44 PM
Yesterday
We Never Sell Your Information: ActBlue does not sell your contact information to anyone. Ever. When you donate through ActBlue, your information goes directly to the candidate or organization you chose to support. If you’re getting unwanted messages from other campaigns, that’s because some campaigns share and sell donor information, not because ActBlue sold your data.


Taken from: https://www.actblue.com/posts/actblue-takes-action-how-were-protecting-donors-from-deceptive-practices/

W_HAMILTON

(10,188 posts)
24. Edit it with what? The point was to blame and criticize ActBlue for something they don't actually even do.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:10 PM
Yesterday

I guess they could instead delete everything they wrote and replace it with a "thank you for being a great fundraising source for Democrats while not selling our information, ActBlue" post...?

KPN

(17,192 posts)
30. She said a couple other things in the post. So to be clear, you want Botany to retract everything he or she wrote,
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 11:08 PM
21 hrs ago

as opposed to just the statement that ActBlue sold her info to others?

W_HAMILTON

(10,188 posts)
31. It was all about criticism stemming from an entirely false claim and...
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 06:46 AM
13 hrs ago

...a tangent about "the failure of the democrats to call out Trump and Musk’s election corruption and interference," which is also another false claim because nearly every damn Democrat has done that.

So, yeah, better yet, just delete the whole thing.

Qutzupalotl

(15,718 posts)
14. There's a better way to donate.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 05:52 PM
Yesterday

Go to https://oath.vote and search for the race you want. They don’t spam you or share your info.

Thanks to former DUer brooklynite for the tip.

TomSlick

(12,923 posts)
16. I get e-mails from Democrats looking for money and daily texts purporting to be from Mark Kelly.
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:33 PM
Yesterday

I take Act Blue at its word that it doesn't sell data but campaigns to which I have contributed through Act Blue may.

It's too easy to delete unwanted texts and e-mails to get too wrapped around the axle about it. Given my normal day of dealing with unreasonable clients and lawyers, this is small beer.

James48

(5,122 posts)
19. I know this-
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:41 PM
Yesterday

All of my donations are public information, and is available upon request from the filings of the federal election commission. Many candidates purchase lists of public ally available info.

Ask Open Secrets who are the people who donate in any particular zip code, and you can see all donations and names. In there.

So don’t think it’s Act Blue, per se. There are a ton of places selling your data.

And I get ten texts a day now from Congressional candidates, and even some state level candidates in other states. I ignore 99% of those.

Tribetime

(7,090 posts)
20. Recommended , I posted something similar without even seeing your
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 06:44 PM
Yesterday

Post about an hour after you.Because i've been getting slammed with people asking for money all the time

progressoid

(52,704 posts)
32. It's likely "third party brokers" or even "friends" of the candidate you donated to.
Wed Jan 28, 2026, 05:18 PM
3 hrs ago

Here's a nice deep dive.


How Political Campaigns Use Your Data to Target You

Campaigns also share information about you with other campaigns, so if you register with a candidate one year, it's likely that information goes to another in the future. For example, the website for Adam’s Schiff’s campaign to serve as U.S. Senator from California has a privacy policy with this line under “Sharing of Information”:

With organizations, candidates, campaigns, groups, or causes that we believe have similar political viewpoints, principles, or objectives or share similar goals and with organizations that facilitate communications and information sharing among such groups


...


These political data brokers make a lot of promises to campaigns. TargetSmart claims to have 171 million highly accurate cell phone numbers, and i360 claims to have data on 220 million voters. They also tend to offer specialized campaign categories that go beyond the offerings of consumer-focused data brokers. Check out data broker L2’s “National Models & Predictive Analytics” page, which breaks down interests, demographics, and political ideology—including details like "Voter Fraud Belief," and "Ukraine Continue." The New York Times demonstrated a particularly novel approach to these sorts of profiles where a voter analytics firm created a “Covid concern score” by analyzing cell phone location, then ranked people based on travel patterns during the pandemic.

Some of these companies target based on location data. For example, El Toro claims to have once “identified over 130,000 IP-matched voter homes that met the client’s targeting criteria. El Toro served banner and video advertisements up to 3 times per day, per voter household – across all devices within the home.”

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/04/how-political-campaigns-use-your-data-target-you

Tadams01KC

(58 posts)
27. My experience
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 07:42 PM
Yesterday

I’ve used Act Blue for years and don’t recall ever receiving emails asking for other donations or spam. I do not remember opting out or anything like that either. Works fine for me.

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