Voting rights groups seek investigation into Wisconsin text message

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Voting rights advocates on Tuesday asked state and federal authorities to investigate anonymous text messages apparently targeting young Wisconsin voters, warning them not to vote in a state where they are ineligible.

Free Speech for People, on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, made the request to the U.S. Department of Justice as well as the Wisconsin Department of Justice. The letter says that “thousands of young voters across Wisconsin” received the text message last week, including staff members at the League of Women Voters and students at the University of Wisconsin.

The text in question cites Wisconsin state law prohibiting voting in more than one place and says that violating the law can result in fines of up to $10,000 and 3.5 years in prison.

“Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible,” the text said.

Wisconsin is known for having razor-thin presidential elections. Four of the last six were decided by less than a percentage point. President Joe Biden won in 2020 by less than 21,000 votes.

At least one person who received the text posted it on the social media platform X.

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The League of Women Voters, in its request for investigation, said that without prompt action “the sender may continue its efforts to frighten eligible young voters into not voting.”

Students attending college in Wisconsin are able to register to vote either at their home address or their one at school.

“But now many students and other young voters are fearful that they will face criminal prosecution if they register and exercise their right to vote — because of a malicious, inaccurate text sent by an anonymous party,” the letter said.

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment.

Wisconsin Department of Justice spokesperson Gillian Drummond said that the department takes allegations of potential violations of election law seriously. She said the agency was reviewing the information in the request for an investigation and would assess “what if any follow-up is appropriate based on the facts and the law.”

Universities of Wisconsin spokesperson Mark Pitsch said in an email that system officials were unaware of any security breach that may have resulted in leaked student contact information. He added that nothing has been reported to system officials about the text, and there was no indication how many students may have received it.

Riley Vetterkind, a spokesperson for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said in an email to The Associated Press that the commission can’t determine whether the text message violates state law because the commission hasn’t received a formal complaint about it.

However, he called the message “concerning” and said that it certainly could leave recipients feeling intimidated. He urged recipients to contact law enforcement directly if they are worried about the message.

“We understand that these third party text messages can be very frustrating for voters,” Vetterkind said. “We recommend voters rely upon official sources of election information, such as from state or local election officials. Voters are free to ignore these text messages since they are not sent or associated with an official source.”

The text message was sent as thousands of voters in Wisconsin are casting absentee ballots. As of Monday, nearly 240,000 absentee ballots had already been returned statewide.

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Starting Oct. 22, voters can start casting absentee ballots in person. Former President Barack Obama plans to join current vice presidential nominee Tim Walz in Madison for a rally that day to encourage early voting.

Wisconsin is one of the “blue wall” states along with Michigan and Pennsylvania that is key to Vice President Kamala Harris’ strategy for defeating Republican Donald Trump.