As xofferson writes in his diary, One Wisconsin Now has learned of an organized voter suppression effort between the Wisconsin GOP, Americans for Prosperity, and a number of tea party groups.
The organization obtained an audio recording, which it says it has verified as authentic, from a June 16, 2010 meeting.
According to the statements made on the recordings, Dake lays out the plans, detailing contact between himself and Reince Preibus, the Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair and Mark Block, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin:
- The Republican Party of Wisconsin will use its “Voter Vault” state-wide voter file to compile a list of minority and student voters in targeted Wisconsin communities.
- Americans for Prosperity will use this list to send mail to these voters indicating the voter must call and confirm their registration information, and telling them if they do not call the number provided they could be removed from the voter lists.
- The Tea Party organizations will recruit and place individuals as official poll workers in selected municipalities in order to be able to make the challenges as official poll workers.
- On Election Day, these organizations will then “make use” of any postcards that are returned as undeliverable to challenge voters at the polls, utilizing law enforcement, as well as attorneys trained and provided by the RPW, to support their challenges.
As a result, One Wisconsin Now has filed a request for investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, as well as the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Election Integrity Task Force and the Government Accountability Board.
“Based on our discussions with legal counsel, we believe certain statements made at this Tea Party meeting clearly outline a plan by these organizations to engage in what may potentially be illegal conduct,” said Ross. “The voter caging and challenge plans outlined by the Tea Party could result in an apparently illegal effort to deter qualified citizens from voting. As described, their plan would deter qualified citizens from voting in a manner that is coercive and without sufficient basis. All of these activities raise serious concerns and should be investigated further to determine whether illegal activity has occurred.”
The target of this suppression effort is, of course, minorities and college students--that's always the target. One thing Wisconsin Democrats can do immediately is start working on early voting GOTV with these groups and get them to vote absentee. The state will have absentee ballots available starting on Monday, October 4. By making sure those votes are in, and in early, and will be counted.