What is this mailer all about? That’s the latest question circulating in the political hotbed of Wisconsin.
From our breaking news story at the MacIver News Service:
Over the weekend, a strange pamphlet began appearing in mailboxes across Wisconsin. It looks like a voter registration form and return label read, Government Accountability Board, but the return address included the incorrect post office box number.
The mailings also included requests for information not required to register to vote in Wisconsin, and at least one solicitation tried to register a six year old girl to vote.
The GAB confirmed to the MacIver News Service it had received calls about the mailing, but it did not send them out. The GAB initially had no other comment other to relay that it was looking into the matter.
According to the Government Accountability Board, the VPC contacted the G.A.B. late in 2011, asking staff to review its proposed mailing for errors. The staff pointed out several errors, some of which were corrected, and some of which were not. Specifically, the G.A.B. asked VPC not to have residents send their voter registration forms directly to the G.A.B., since voter registration is handled by Wisconsin’s 1,850 municipal clerks.
Kevin Kennedy, said that while it is legal for groups and political parties to produce and distribute voter registration forms, residents who wish to register to vote need not rely on them. “If you need or want to register to vote, contact your municipal clerk directly and request an application,” Kennedy said. “You can also download an official Wisconsin voter registration form from the G.A.B. website, fill it out and mail it directly to the clerk.”
So, what to make of this Wisconsin mailer? Who was the target audience? Was this, indeed, sent by the Voter Participation Center? Is this mailing an effort an attempt to confuse and manipulate conservative voters? Is this a data mining operation? Or, is this merely another in a series of questionable and sloppy efforts on the part of a national organization with a dubious track record? Read more>>
If you are a political junkie and live in Wisconsin, it’s never boring here.
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