Wisconsin Right to Life, which bills itself as Wisconsin's "largest and most effective pro-life organization," has been caught offering gift cards in exchange for "pro-life" absentee ballot applications.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has obtained an email dated July 1st of this year that warns readers that the "pro-family" Wisconsin Senate is being put at risk by upcoming recall elections, and then offers...
"rewards for volunteers who make an impact over the weekend by educating and encouraging family and friends to vote by absentee ballot," including:
A "$25 gift card or gas card reward for any volunteer who can get at least 15 pro-life/pro-family voters (and family and friends) to complete an absentee ballot application" by July 5.
A "$75 gift card or gas card reward for the volunteer in each Senate district who gets the most absentee ballot applications completed" by July 5.
According to the Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin Right to Life has not responded to numerous requests for comments. More from the Journal Sentinel:
A Milwaukee County prosecutor is examining allegations that abortion opponents offered rewards for volunteers who signed up sympathetic voters in Wisconsin's high-stakes Senate recall elections....
Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf, who prosecutes election law violations, said he had been "advised by the Milwaukee County Election Commission and the (city) clerk of Glendale that Wisconsin Right to Life may have been offering things of value in exchange for signing up pro-life people to vote by absentee ballot in the Alberta Darling recall election."
Darling's campaign has been attempting to smear her opponent, Democrat Sandy Pasch, by suggesting Pasch's campaign coordinated efforts with an advocacy group and a GOTV effort by Wisconsin Jobs Now. The allegations against Pasch are baseless but have garnered a few headlines. The charges against Wisconsin Right to Life appear to be solid, though, and will not help Darling or the other Republican Senators facing recall elections.
Darling shocked her supporters and her opponents on Tuesday when she was asked if she felt confident she would win. She said she wasn't sure, that it depends on turnout and the ground game.
If it's about the ground game (and it is), Darling is toast. There has never been a better organized grassroots effort ANYWHERE to elect a Democrat than the one supporting Sandy Pasch.
You can donate to Sandy Pasch here:
http://sandyforsenate.com/
Hat tip to buckybadger1988 for mentioning the Journal Sentinel article in a comment thread.
UPDATE 08/04/2011 09:45 a.m CDT...here is why I think my title, Group Offers Gift Cards for Votes, is accurate. The WRTL volunteers are not registering voters, they are gathering absentee ballot applications from registered voters. Think of it as the postal equivalent of driving someone to the polls. The application will trigger a ballot to be mailed to the voter. So far, no problem. Perfectly legal.
Imagine that the group were to hire a cab to drive voters to the polls on election day. Can they pay the cab driver? Of course. Can they pay the cab driver a bonus if he delivers a certain number of people, including himself and his family, to the polling station? I think not. Not legally, anyway.