--- title: Koch Backed Political Group Sends Voter Registration Info to Cat description: And hundreds of the other forms weren’t purr-fect either canonical: https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-26T20:57:10.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:48.497Z article:section: Politics og:title: Koch Backed Political Group Sends Voter Registration Info to Cat og:description: And hundreds of the other forms weren’t purr-fect either og:url: https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Koch Backed Political Group Sends Voter Registration Info to Cat twitter:description: And hundreds of the other forms weren’t purr-fect either twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # A Conservative Group Sent Voter Registration Information to a Cat > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=412f74d6-b648-4234-984f-43a37053ea17&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=412f74d6-b648-4234-984f-43a37053ea17&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=412f74d6-b648-4234-984f-43a37053ea17&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) and [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/) Sep 26, 2014 8:57 PM UTC by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) and [Denver Nicks](https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/) Sep 26, 2014 8:57 PM UTC Oh, for the coveted feline vote. In a bid to register conservative North Carolinians to vote, the political group Americans For Prosperity mistakenly [sent](http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/25/4181779%5Fvoters-mailed-incorrect-information.html?sp=/99/102/105/&rh=1) voter registration forms with incorrect information to hundreds of men, women—and at least one cat. The faulty forms went out along with hundreds of thousands of normal voter registration mailers, AFP said. Some of those forms, numbering in the hundreds, included inaccurate information, like the wrong date of the deadline to register or the wrong location for where to send the completed form, the _News & Observer_ [reports](http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/09/25/4181779%5Fvoters-mailed-incorrect-information.html?sp=/99/102/105/&rh=1). And at least one such form was addressed to a woman’s cat. “AFP Foundation has registered thousands of North Carolinians to vote through this registration drive, which is a great thing for the democratic process and getting more people involved,” AFP spokesman Levi Russell said. “While there were non-substantive errors in our mailers, the program has been highly successful so far. Any large mailing even with 99.9% accuracy is always going to have a few inaccurate recipients, but we’ll always be striving to make it better. Ultimately our forms are working as intended—when a resident fills out our form and sends it in, they will be registered to vote, period.” The liberal group American Bridge nonetheless jumped on the blunder to needle the Koch brother-funded conservative group in an email to journalists and supporters.  AFP has spent $25 million on ads this year but has recently focused its energy on voter registration initiatives in North Carolina, where Democratic groups have outspent Republicans two-to-one in booked ads, [according](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FSENATE%5FPOLITICAL%5FMONEY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLA) to the Associated Press. North Carolina’s contest between incumbent Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan and Republican state House Speaker Thom Tillis is one of the year’s most competitive races. Inviting a cat to register to vote may have been an even bigger mistake than AFP realizes. What little data science has gathered on the political tendencies of felines suggests they may not be the kind of [voters AFP is looking for anyway.](http://time.com/8293/its-true-liberals-like-cats-more-than-conservatives-do/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/"},"headline":"A Conservative Group Sent Voter Registration Information to a Cat","datePublished":"2014-09-26T20:57:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:48.497Z","description":"And hundreds of the other forms weren’t purr-fect either","url":"https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/","keywords":["2014 Election","North Carolina"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Denver Nicks","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/denver-nicks/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2014-election/","name":"2014 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3433411/afp-north-carolina-cat/","name":"A Conservative Group Sent Voter Registration Information to a Cat"}}]}] ```