College students who live and study in Wisconsin are legally allowed to register to vote and participate in elections with either their school or home address. But a “threatening” text message last week, flagged by two nonprofit groups, implied otherwise ― raising concerns about voter intimidation in a critical swing state.
“WARNING: Violating WI Statutes 12.13 & 6.18 may result in fines up to $10,000 or 3.5 years in prison,” reads the text message, citing laws concerning election fraud and voter eligibility. “Don’t vote in a state where you’re not eligible. STOP2END.”
“Thousands” of young voters across Wisconsin received the text on Oct. 10, according to a letter sent Tuesday to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D). The nonprofit group Free Speech for People sent the letter on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
The text messages “targeted young voters aged 18-25,” including “many” who are part of the University of Wisconsin system, according to the letter.
“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.
Among the text’s recipients were young staff members at the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the letter said. A staff member at Democracy Docket, a voting rights news website founded by the Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, also received a text, according to the group’s website. The Associated Press noted that at least one person who received the text posted a copy of it on X, formerly Twitter.
College students strongly support Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in this year’s election, polling has indicated, and their votes could be crucial in several swing states.
State law also allows Wisconsin residents who attend school out-of-state to vote absentee in Wisconsin. Similarly, out-of-state residents studying in Wisconsin are legally able to vote in Wisconsin.
The state election commission’s “guide to student residency” states: “Under Wisconsin Statutes, an individual must reside in an election ward for at least 28 consecutive days before the election and have no present intent to move. A person does not lose residency for voting purposes by leaving an established residence for temporary purposes with the intent to return to the residence.” (The document clarifies that voters don’t need to literally sleep at a single address for 28 days straight to be eligible.)
Registration rules and deadlines vary by state, but those rules are easy to check.
Wednesday, incidentally, is the last day to register to vote online or by mail in Wisconsin ― though eligible voters can register in person at clerks’ offices up until the Friday before the election, or at their polling places on Election Day.
The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and Free Speech for People asked for a voter intimidation investigation on the state and federal levels.
“Wisconsin DOJ takes allegations of potential violations of election law seriously,” Gillian Drummond, a spokesperson for the state Department of Justice, told HuffPost on Wednesday. “Wisconsin DOJ is reviewing the information provided and will assess what if any follow-up is appropriate based on the facts and the law.”
The U.S. Justice Department did not respond to HuffPost’s request for comment Wednesday.
In their letter, the nonprofits cited a lawsuit brought in New York by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation against Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman, right-wing conspiracy theorists who used robocalls targeted to neighborhoods with large Black populations meant to intimidate voters in 2020.
“Mail-in voting sounds great, but did you know that if you vote by mail, your personal information will be part of a public database that will be used by police departments to track down old warrants, and be used for credit card companies to collect outstanding debts?” said the robocalls, which were sent to tens of thousands of recipients in several states. “The [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] is even pushing to use records for mail-in voting to track people for mandatory vaccines. Don’t be finessed into giving your private information to the man. Stay safe and beware of vote-by-mail.”
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The New York attorney general’s office intervened in the case, and Wohl and Burkman were ultimately found to have violated the Voting Rights Act, the Ku Klux Klan Act, and New York civil rights law. They agreed to pay up to $1.25 million as a fine. Separately, the Federal Communications Commission fined them $5 million, and the pair were sentenced to 500 hours of voter registration by a judge in Ohio, where they pleaded guilty to telecommunications fraud. They still face multiple felony charges in Michigan.
“Parties that commit voter intimidation should not be allowed to hide behind technology or benefit from the anonymity of texting,” Tuesday’s letter to Wisconsin and federal officials read. “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.”
“Wisconsin voters need to know that these threatening text messages are illegal and the League of Women Voters will fight against bad actors who seek to sow confusion in our elections,” Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, said in a statement.
Courtney Hostetler, legal director for Free Speech For People ― which challenged the candidacy eligibility of former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) ― added: “It is distressing and dangerous that thousands of young people can be targeted by a disinformation text message sent by anonymous perpetrators that threatens their right to vote.”