Liam Beran
Texts sent to intimidate WI voters
Eileen Newcomer, voter education manager at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin: 'I wouldn't give too much stock to a text message that's coming from an unknown actor that is claiming things.'
An unknown number of Wisconsinites have received texts since Oct. 10 warning that voting in a state where “you’re not eligible” could result in steep fines or prison time.
“WARNING: Violating WI Statutes 12.13 and 6.18 may result in fines up to $10,000 or 3.5 years in prison,” the text reads. “Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible.”
Statute 12.13 outlines state definitions of election fraud, and 6.18 stipulates that voters who moved from Wisconsin and are ineligible to vote in their new state, can still vote absentee in a presidential election in Wisconsin up to two years after leaving the state.
In Madison, several voters have complained to the City Clerk’s Office about the text messages, Madison City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl tells Isthmus. One came in person: "Yesterday, a man came into the clerk’s office to let us know that his daughter had received one of these text messages," says Witzel-Behl. The office has reported the texts to the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, she adds.
Eileen Newcomer, voter education manager at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, says she has never seen an anonymous text message operation like this and that there is not yet a sense of how many voters were contacted.
Newcomer believes that the text would fall under the legal definition of voter intimidation; her group and voting nonprofit Free Speech For People have requested in a public letter that the Wisconsin and U.S. Departments of Justice investigate the matter and identify the sender. She says that a number of lawyers — including those with the Election Protection hotline — are looking into whether the texting operation violated relevant laws. She is concerned that the texts will intimidate voters who aren’t familiar with voting or the statutes, adding that voters should turn to election officials for accurate voting information.
“Election officials are the official source of election information and verifying if you're eligible to vote or if you're not eligible to vote,” Newcomer says. “Really, anybody can text people information, right? I wouldn't give too much stock to a text message that's coming from an unknown actor that is claiming things.”
Wisconsin residents can check their voter information, find out where to vote and register at myvote.wi.gov
It’s unclear who is behind the messages. Isthmus has identified three numbers with the 262 area code — used in southeastern Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee — that have sent such texts to voters. Reverse searches indicate no owner for the phone numbers, and calling the numbers yields an error message. To follow the law, the person or persons sending the messages would need to use peer-to-peer texting, Newcomer says, rather than a mass text: “It's illegal to send broadcast texts to people who have not subscribed to your program."
“People took time and energy to put this together, to put it out,” Newcomer adds. She believes the texts were predominantly sent to young people, as that’s who she has heard the most reports from.
Voters who receive texts they consider intimidating should contact the Election Protection hotline, says Newcomer: “I just want people to know that support is available if you received a text like this, or if you received any communication that you perceive to be intimidating.”
[Editor's note: This article has been updated to note the request to the Wisconsin and U.S. Departments of Justice to investigate the matter.]
