But just like with Facebook or Airbnb, people who click around enough can find friends, neighbors and co-workers.

I already have.

I looked up a neighbor and discovered that the person is a party member. I learned that two co-workers are not in any party.

Why is the data online?

A new state law requires the elections board to publish voters’ names, addresses and party affiliation in time for candidates to collect signatures from voters, which they must do to appear on the ballot.

Previously, the board put this information in books. But the new law also shortened the time the board had to publish the material — so it went online.

Some people, like domestic violence victims, can ask to shield their information from these types of databases. And critics like Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause, a nonpartisan organization focused on holding government accountable, say that just because the information is public, it doesn’t mean it should be made available in this manner.

Big data, no big deal?

Political consultants have relied on voter data for years: That’s why you’re mailed campaign literature.

There’s some public information the board didn’t publish online. Obviously, whom you voted for remains private. But whether you voted at all is public, and that part of your voter history is available upon request.