State Republican Mailer Under Fire As Unfair Confusion Tactic
Mailer Directs Voters To Return Absentee Ballot To Wrong Address
Updated: 7:47 am CDT September 16, 2008
MADISON, Wis. -- Absentee ballot mailers are under fire from Democrats.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportDemocrats believe a mistake by the Republican Party could be an effort to mislead or even disenfranchise voters.More than a 100,000 mailers from the John McCain campaign were sent out with an application for an absentee ballot.The problem is that the mailers were sent to a particular address, but if the voters returned the application it was addressed to another city.The state Republican Party called it an honest mistake."These mailings were intended to get more people to the polls, not less. So I think you're going to see a few glitches in any list, but I think that was a good faith effort to put together a good list and get people to the polls," said state Republican Chairman Mark Jefferson.But in a news conference on Monday, Democrats said they believe Democratic districts were targeted to confuse voters."Either they are launching a systematic campaign to deny the franchise to literally thousands of Wisconsin voters or they're holding those rights hostage to a standard they themselves admit is impossible to meet," said state Democratic Party chairman Joe Wineke.The Republican Party won't say how voters were chosen to be part of the mailing, only that it shouldn't be a surprise that Democrats or Independents were targeted because of the tight race in the state.A spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board said that they've determined, through an investigation, that the language of the mailer is not illegal."The Government Accountability Board has determined that the language is not illegal, but if you received this mailing and saw that it was being sent to a different municipality you should question it, you can't vote in two places," said Kyle Richmond, the public information officer for the accountability board.The board plans to send a memo to clerks across the state alerting them to the mailer with two possible addresses.
VIDEO: Watch The ReportDemocrats believe a mistake by the Republican Party could be an effort to mislead or even disenfranchise voters.More than a 100,000 mailers from the John McCain campaign were sent out with an application for an absentee ballot.The problem is that the mailers were sent to a particular address, but if the voters returned the application it was addressed to another city.The state Republican Party called it an honest mistake."These mailings were intended to get more people to the polls, not less. So I think you're going to see a few glitches in any list, but I think that was a good faith effort to put together a good list and get people to the polls," said state Republican Chairman Mark Jefferson.But in a news conference on Monday, Democrats said they believe Democratic districts were targeted to confuse voters."Either they are launching a systematic campaign to deny the franchise to literally thousands of Wisconsin voters or they're holding those rights hostage to a standard they themselves admit is impossible to meet," said state Democratic Party chairman Joe Wineke.The Republican Party won't say how voters were chosen to be part of the mailing, only that it shouldn't be a surprise that Democrats or Independents were targeted because of the tight race in the state.A spokesman for the state Government Accountability Board said that they've determined, through an investigation, that the language of the mailer is not illegal."The Government Accountability Board has determined that the language is not illegal, but if you received this mailing and saw that it was being sent to a different municipality you should question it, you can't vote in two places," said Kyle Richmond, the public information officer for the accountability board.The board plans to send a memo to clerks across the state alerting them to the mailer with two possible addresses.Copyright 2008 by Channel 3000. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
