Two nonprofits whose work is intended to boost voter participation rebuffed claims from the Maryland attorney general that their election season mailers were “intimidating” and “threatening” in a letter Friday.

By now, the Center for Voter Information and Voter Participation Center have sent over 3.5 million mailers to Marylanders and over 113 million nationally urging people to participate in this year’s election. But the nonprofits have drawn ire from residents across the country because of what some recipients called ‘vaguely threatening’ language in the letters.

Tucked in the perforated edges of the mailer, a bolded message reads: “Remember, who you vote for is private, but whether or not you voted is public record.” Below is a reminder that these nonprofits are watching: “We will be reviewing these records after the election to determine whether or not you joined your neighbors in voting.”

The letters also include personal information like names, addresses and whether people voted in an election going back to 2016 — all public records. Which candidates people voted for is not in the public record.

On Thursday evening, state Attorney General Anthony G. Brown sent the nonprofits a cease-and-desist letter in which he ordered them to stop sending the letters or face legal action. These actions, Brown wrote, were an intimidation tactic that attempted to influence voting choice and methods in a manner that violated state and federal voting laws. Intimidation or coercion in any part of the voting process is illegal, according to the Voting Rights Act.

In the same letter, Brown also linked the nonprofits to text messages sent to people in other states that allegedly said, “We’ll be sharing a report after the election of those who didn’t vote.”

However, in a rebuttal letter to Brown Friday, the nonprofits said they were not involved with the text messages. They also called Brown’s message a breach of their efforts to bolster voter turnout.

“It is not ‘intimidating’ or ‘threatening’ to promote voting by discussing neighborhood participation rates and stating that the records will be reviewed after the election to determine whether the recipient joined their neighbors in voting,” wrote Scott E. Thomas, a lawyer who represents the nonprofits.

The nonprofits said their work in Maryland this year is now done.

“VPC and CVI do not have any current plans for additional mailings into Maryland for this election cycle,” Thomas wrote. But, he noted, some are still in the postal service pipeline and heading to Maryland homes. “VPC and CVI will continue to encourage voting in a constitutionally protected and legal manner.”

The attorney general’s office acknowledged the response Friday and said in a statement they are “satisfied that the organization will not improperly contact voters following this election to report on their, or their neighbors’, voting records.” The office said they would not take any further legal action.

Tom Lopach, the president and CEO of the nonprofits, previously told The Baltimore Banner the companies will only use the information to identify people to send additional letters to in future election cycles. The groups have sent low- to mid-propensity voters four to seven mailers before they finally voted, he said.

This is a breaking story and may be updated.