Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Here In Wisconsin

On page A5 of today's Wisconsin State Journal there is brief mention of some possible shenanigans involving various unnamed etc in the upcoming recall elections. It's not clear who or what or if anything exactly happened. Here is what really went on:

Updated: August 1, 2011, 4:40PM
Is the Koch-backed conservative group Americans For Prosperity up to no good in the Wisconsin state Senate recalls?
As Politico reports, mailers have now turned up from Americans For Prosperity Wisconsin, addressed to voters in two of the Republican-held recall districts, where the elections will be held on August 9. The mailers ask recipients to fill out an absentee ballot application, and send it in -- by August 11, after Election Day for the majority of these races.
Wisconsin's independent voice, indeed. And, for what it's worth, I searched for the story on the WSJ's site and couldn't find it, which isn't to say it can't be found just that after searching for verbatim sentences, article title, and browsing the day's news I failed to find it. Found something, after 6 pages of browsing:

Voters across Wisconsin are receiving misleading information about the dates of upcoming recall elections.
Absentee voter applications sent by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity tell voters to return the mailing after the Aug. 9 recall elections targeting Republican Sens. Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Rob Cowles of Allouez.
And the Democratic National Committee has been placing calls giving the wrong date for the recall election against Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse.
Wisconsin Government Accountability Board spokesman Reid Magney says DNC officials were contacted about the calls with the wrong date and they told election officials the calls would stop.
The GAB is also urging voters who want to cast absentee ballots to not rely on mailings but instead to contact their local election official.
And now a transcription for the actual morning  paper:
State election watchdogs have seen absentee ballots applications supposedly being distributed to voters in upcoming recalls, containing errors such as incorrect addresses and dates, Government Accountability Board officials said Monday.
  Kevin Kennedy, Wisconsin's chief elections officer, said it is legal for groups and political parties to produce and distribute absentee ballot applications, but voters should not rely on them.
 "If you need or want to vote absentee, contact your municipal cleark directly and request a ballot," Kennedy said.
 Kennedy said if the address on the absentee ballot application mailer or envelope is incorrect , it could go to the wrong place and ultimately could go uncounted.
 There have been cases where political groups try to influence outcomes by confusing voters with absentee ballots.  Kennedy said there has been confusion between the recall elections in Senate districts, 2, 8, 10, 14, 18, and 32 on Aug. 9 and those in districts 12 and 22 on Aug. 16.
  The board has received reports that some automated telephone calls and telephone polls in recent days contained incorrect election dates.
Some difference eh? Also, too misaddressed mail goes to the right address, somehow or another?

Image of article:



UPDATE: In today's WSJ on the front page there was a long AP article that concluded that both sides do it.

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