By Mike Feinstein, Elections Database Manager
August 18, 2028
Background: The GPUS Elections Database Manager MOU and Job Description provides that the Database Manager shall “Produce a draft Database Access Protocol for the access and use of Confidential contact information for candidates, and for access to exported data regarding candidate election results, and submit it to the Coordinated Campaign Committee and the Steering Committee.” This is that draft Database Access Protocol. While this Protocol may be further amended by the Database Manager after subsequent input from the GPUS Coordinated Campaign Committee and Steering Committee, given the time sensitive nature of an August 2026 request by the co-chair of the GPUS Eco-Action Committee, this Protocol shall be in use as of August 18, for the purposes of responding to the request by the Eco-Action Committee.
Findings:
• Whereas it is in the interest of the GPUS to be in contact with Greens running for and/or serving in elected public office, in order to promote Green policies and build stronger connections between the GPUS and Green candidates and officeholders; and
• Whereas the Elections Database Manager makes a good faith effort to gather and record email and phone contact information when entering Green candidates in the Elections Database; and
• Whereas some of this contact information is (i) publicly available on campaign and official government elections websites, but where (ii) other information only comes comes from personal contact between the Elections Database Manager and Green candidates and officeholders, and/or from contact between the Elections Database Manager and state/local Green Parties, and/or (iii) via inspection of official Green voter registration lists provided by governmental agencies that contacts such contact information and/or via commercial sources that enhance the contact information provided in such official Green voter registration lists, the compilation of said contact information together with Green candidate/officeholders list represents a substantial amount of time and labor by the Elections Database Manager, that is necessarily spent at the expense of time spent on other Elections Database tasks, thereby the sum of such contact information for Green candidates and/or officeholders represents a substantially valuable asset of the GPUS, and thus should be used prudently; and
• Whereas it is the interest of the GPUS that Green candidates and officeholders welcome communications received from GPUS committees and the GPUS as a whole, such that the number of such GPUS-related communications should be limited and to the point, such that therefore the contact information derived from the Elections Database not be shared so widely as to lead to what may be seen as unsolicited, bothersome or spam contact from Greens; and
• Whereas exporting of contact information from the Database involves a time-consuming process of combining information from different sections of the Database, where contact information is housed in one section of the Database and candidate information in another, such they are not automatically combined and therefore requires a substantial amount of manual work by the Elections Database Manager — such that such requests may not be able to be satisfied in an abbreviated time frame given other Elections Database Manager responsibilities; and
• Whereas the contact information section of the Database contains three types of email addresses – personal, campaign and officeholder; and
• Whereas it may not be appropriate for Green officeholders to receive partisan emails at their official officeholder email accounts;
• Whereas on a more limited basis, the contact information section of the Database contains phone numbers, but where it is not always clear whether they are personal, campaign or officeholder; and
• Whereas in a limited number of cases, state Green Parties officially oppose the candidacies of individuals who are Green Party members, and therefore it is not in the interest of the GPUS to invite said individuals to participate in GPUS committees and processes; and
• Whereas some candidates listed in the Elections Database are registered Greens running for, and/or serving in nonpartisan local government office, but who may not yet have been in contact with their state parties, such that the first contact from the Green Party might more appropriately come from their state party than the GPUS; and similarly
• Whereas some candidates listed in the Elections Database are registered Greens running for, and/or serving in nonpartisan local government office, who have a nonpartisan local political profile such that they don’t wish to widely publicize their Green Party affiliation, at least if and until they have been in contact with their state Green Party; and
• Whereas the Mission Statement/Duties and Responsibilities of four GPUS Standing Committees specifically involves Greens running for and/or serving in elected public office:
Annual National Meeting Committee (https://gpus.org/committees/annual-national-meeting/anmc-mission-statement/):
2.5 Work with other GPUS Standing Committees in the scheduling of time specifically dedicated to their Mission and work, including reports, workshops, speakers panels and candidate forums.
Coordinated Campaign Committee (https://gpus.org/committees/coordinated-campaign/)
The Coordinated Campaign Committee (CCC) is a standing committee of the GPUS that cooperates with state and local parties in the coordination and support of local and state-level Green Party electoral campaigns. Specific functions of the CCC include:
A. Tracking of Green Party candidates at local and state levels of government.
B. Awarding of cash grants to deserving local and state candidates, as allowed by budgeted allocations and/or committee reserves. CCC can set aside up to 25% of its annual GPUS budget to support Congressional candidates if fundraising by the GCCC PAC fails to meet this threshold during any calendar year.
C. Making financial investments to develop campaign/election skills, training, and materials for local and state candidates and activists, as allowed by budgeted allocations and/or committee reserves
D. Facilitating discussions regarding electoral strategy among state parties.
E. Identifying target communities and districts for national party support of local and state candidates.
F. Supporting candidate recruitment in targeted communities and districts.
G. Mobilizing volunteer, media, celebrity, and resources for specific candidacies in targeted communities and districts.
H. Analyzing past campaigns for lessons learned.
I. Tracking of state ballot status and laws.
J. Publicizing and distributing regular calls for candidates.
K. Conducting online training and information webinars.
L. Maintaining online platforms for networking, communication, and training of candidates.
Eco-Action Committee (https://gpus.org/committees/eco-action/ecoaction-committee-rules/) 1-2.1 Inform and advise Green Party candidates on ecological issues.
Media Committee (https://gpus.org/committees/media/media-committee-bylaws/)
2. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
2-1 Prepare and issue press releases on behalf of the Green Party of the United States (GPUS)
2-3 Establish official GPUS social media accounts to promote, publicize and provide an objective source of information about:
2-3.1 Green Party successes and achievements, leadership, platform, and positions on issues and legislation; and
2-3.2 Green candidates and officeholders, state Green parties, and the successes and achievements of state and local Green Party rank and file members.
Therefore
1. Responsibilities of the GPUS Committees seeking contact information of Green candidates and/or officeholders
1-1. GPUS Committees who wish to request contact information from the Elections Database for Green candidates and/or officeholders shall make a best faith effort on an annual basis to include in their planning, and to communicate to the Elections Database Manager, if and when they would require receipt of said contact data, and for what purpose stated in their Mission Statement; and to do some as far in advance as possible, in order to enable the Database Manager to plan for this; and
1-2. Such a request may only be made by either or both of the Committee co-chairs, where such requests shall be assumed to be made with the approval of the Committee, and therefore shall not require copies of the Committee’s decision to be forwarded to the Elections Database Manager (although a record of such a Committee decision may be voluntarily provided by the co-chair/s); and
1-3 Said contact information shall be used specifically for the purposes provided for in the Committee’s Mission Statement/Duties and Responsibilities as stated in the Committee’s request, and shall not used to violate the personal privacy and/or safety of Green candidates and/or officeholders; and shall not shared with or sold to individuals organizations outside of the GPUS; and any such misuse of the contact information shall be assumed to be the responsibility of any individuals involved and not the GPUS, its Committees nor the Elections Database Manager; and
1-4 When the only email contact available for a Green candidates and/or officeholder is an officeholder email address, the contacting GPUS Committee shall acknowledge that they are utilizing said email address for a first contact, and ask for an alternative email address for subsequent contact; and where it is made available, shall also share this with the Elections Database Manager.
2. Responsibilities of the Elections Database Manager providing contact information of Green candidates and/or officeholders
2-1 Upon receiving a written request from a GPUS Committee co-chair in compliance with the terms above, the Elections Database Manager shall make a good faith effort to provide the requested information in a manner responsive to the timing requested by the Committee; and
2-2 In the case of partisan state and/or federal office, where the partisan identify of a Green candidate is publicly available, the Elections Database Manager shall provide email contact information where available upon the hierarchy below, except not in the case of candidates formally opposed by their state parties (in which case no contact information shall be provided, but instead such request should be routed through the appropriate state party given the sensitivity of this issue); and
2-3 In the case of partisan state and/or federal office, where a Green Party member is running in a partisan election as an independent, because the Green Party does not have sufficient ballot status under state law or otherwise to appear on the ballot under a Green Party banner, the Elections Database Manager shall provide email contact information where available based upon the hierarchy below, except not in the case of candidates formally opposed by their state parties (in which case no contact information shall be provided, but instead such request should be routed through the appropriate state party given the sensitivity of this issue); and
2-4 In the case of non-partisan local government office, the Elections Database Manager shall use their judgement to determine which Green candidate and/or officeholders have already been in contact with their state parties, such that a communication from the GPUS shall not be the first time they hear from the Green Party on any level, and shall provide provide email contact information for them where available based upon the hierarchy below; and
2-5 Given all of the above, the Elections Database shall provide email contact information where available based upon the following hierarchy: among available contact information to provide
2-5.1 Candidate campaign email
2-5.2 Personal email where candidate email not available
2-5.3 Officeholder email where neither candidate nor personal email is available
2-6 Given all of the above, and given that the Elections Database currently does not distinguish between whether a phone number listed is a campaign, personal or officeholder number, the Elections Database Manager shall provide phone contact information only upon an individual candidate/officeholder basis as requested by the Committee co-chair
