A text warning Wisconsin voters that violating election law could lead to fines and prison time was reported to local and federal law enforcement.
The unsolicited texts came less than a month before Election Day. Wisconsin has 10 electoral votes, which went to President Joe Biden in 2020 and to former President Donald Trump in 2016.
“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 said. “Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible.”
These statutes refer to former Wisconsin residents voting absentee and the legal definition of election fraud.
Some of the texts came from the Wisconsin 262 area code. There is no indication of a group that is behind the messages.
As a result, the city of Madison, Wisconsin, reported the texts to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin reported them to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin claimed the messages could be tantamount to voter intimidation.
“That the messages were sent via text do not make them any less threatening or any less unlawful. Indeed, the technology made the message more dangerous, as the sender was able to intimidate
thousands of voters in a short period of time,” the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin wrote in a letter. “Parties that commit voter intimidation should not be allowed to hide behind technology or benefit from the anonymity of texting. 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.”
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This campaign mimics the robocall operation by Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman that targeted black voters in several states and falsely claimed “personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants and be used by credit card companies to collect outstanding debts,” per the Federal Communications Commission filing. The FCC proposed to charge the pair a fine per phone call they made prior to the 2020 elections.
In the end, Wohl and Burkman paid $1.2 million in fines. Additionally, in Ohio, they were sentenced to two years of probation and 500 hours of registering voters.