The League of Women Voters is asking the US and Wisconsin attorney generals to investigate an anonymous message aimed at intimidating young voters in the Badger State.
|
Listen To This Story
 |
Voter suppression is one of the most popular tools Republicans use to swing tight elections their way. It’s not that Democrats aren’t above using that tactic; it’s just that there are some fairly monolithic voting blocs that reliably vote for them, which makes their voters an easier target for the GOP and its allies.
For example, when a known voter suppressor like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sends his goon squad after former felons, or if Texas officials are trying to intimidate Latino voters and advocates, then they can be fairly certain that they are targeting likely Democratic voters.
One of the reasons is that these groups can be more easily intimidated. A former felon, for example, won’t risk going back to jail just for casting a vote, so they are likely not to take a chance if they are worried that this could happen.
And for Latinos, there may be a language barrier, or they might live in a household in which people have mixed immigration statuses and are therefore wary of dealing with government officials.
Another such demographic is college students, who may be voting for the first time and therefore be uncertain about the procedures.
Therefore, it is no surprise that they are also a target of voter suppression efforts.
This is the case in Wisconsin.
In a letter sent to US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Badger State Attorney General Josh Kaul this week, the League of Women Voters pointed to a recent voter suppression scheme that, according to the group, has targeted “thousands” of young voters, including many college students.
In an anonymous message, the sender warned them that voting in a state in which they are ineligible may result in fines of $10,000 and 3.5 years in prison.
“Students who live and attend college in Wisconsin are allowed to choose whether to register to vote with their school address or their home address,” the letter said. “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. Federal law and Wisconsin law prohibit voter intimidation.”
The group also notes that “parties that commit voter intimidation should not be allowed to hide behind technology or benefit from the anonymity of texting.”
Therefore, the League of Women Voters wants the federal Department of Justice and the Wisconsin Department of Justice to investigate the text messages, find out who sent them, “and promptly take appropriate enforcement action against the perpetrators in order to protect Wisconsin’s voters.”
While the group said it has taken steps to correct this misinformation, it noted that this is taking time and money, and that it seems unlikely that it could reach all of the recipients of the misleading text message.
