Groups allege Wisconsin young voters received ‘threatening’ text messages
(The Center Square) – The Voters of Tomorrow and the League of Women Voters are combating two different text messages allegedly sent to thousands of young voters across Wisconsin the organizations say constitute illegal voter intimidation attempts.
The organizations alleged the senders are targeting voters ages 18-25 in Wisconsin, including college students, with texts warning them to not vote from a campus address.
“WARNING: Violating WI Statutes 12.13 & 6.18 may result in fines up to $10,000 or 3.5 years in prison. Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible. STOP2END,” the messages allegedly said.
Voters of Tomorrow announced it is combating the messages with texts of its own, reading “Know your rights: WI students can vote using either a WI home address OR a campus address if you’ve lived there for at least 28 days. Your student ID can be a voter ID, and you can register to vote on Election Day.”
“As a Gen Z-led group, we firmly believe that our votes should be earned, not silenced,” Voters of Tomorrow’s Wisconsin chapter lead Mark Putman said Tuesday. “The threatening text messages are pathetic, anti-democratic, and illegal. Voters of Tomorrow will not stand for any attempt at undermining young voters, because our futures are at stake this election. So we are fighting back, doing everything we can to ensure that student voters in Wisconsin know their rights.”
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin also took action, sending a letter to Wisconsin’s Attorney General to investigate the text messages.
“Parties that commit voter intimidation should not be allowed to hide behind technology or benefit from the anonymity of texting,” the letter says. “We urge your offices to promptly and thoroughly investigate these texts, make public the identity of the party or parties responsible for disseminating the texts, and take appropriate enforcement action against the perpetrators.”
Administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission Meagan Wolfe addressed the issue as well.
“I’ve seen the media reports on that as well, and I believe that we’ve had a couple of voters that have called our office expressing concerns over receiving that message,” Wolfe said in a media call. “So our best guidance to folks is again, if you’re getting these concerning or questionable contacts from third party groups, I wouldnt trust that information.”
Wolfe also said if the voter receives a message they feel is voter intimidation, they should report it to their local law enforcement.
