One teeny, tiny difference

[gratuitous]

From your description, it sounds like the New York Democratic mailer includes the very pertinent bit of information that "Who you vote for is your secret." While the Iowa Republican mailer doesn't come right out and say that your vote will be revealed, it's strongly implied, and the text coupled with the photo seems to say that in addition to whether someone voted, how that person voted will be known as well.

That specification by the Democrats that your vote is secret makes all the difference.

In my analysis, though, it seems that the Republicans are trying to blunt a technique found so effective by researchers ("vote shaming&quot . The low information voter is the Republicans' friend.