Group affiliated with the Family Research Council accused of misleading voters in recalls

Created: August 02, 2011 16:08 | Last updated: July 31, 2020 00:00

Wisconsin Family Action (WFA), a group affiliated with the Family Research Council and a leader in opposing LGBT rights in the state, is being accused by Democrats of sending out absentee ballot applications with an inaccurate deadline for the state’s Aug. 9 recall elections. The mailers were sent in conjunction with Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by the Koch Brothers who have ties to Gov. Scott Walker.

The absentee ballot applications told voters they needed to be returned by Aug. 11, two days after the Aug. 9 deadline set by the state. The address listed on the ballot as “application processing center” belongs to WFA not a county clerk’s office where the ballots must be returned by the deadline.

The mailing was sent out in the districts of Sheila Harsdorf, R-River Falls, and Rob Cowles, R-Allouez, who are facing recall challenges from Democrats Shelly Moore and Nancy Nusbaum.

A Democratic voter who received the ballot made a video of the ballot explaining the problems with it.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, two people who have received the inaccurate ballots are in the process of filing complaints against WFA and AFP.

AFP told reporters on Monday that the group was not trying to mislead voters and that the mailing only went out to its members.

Matt Seaholm, state director of AFP, blamed the mistake on a typo, saying his group was not trying to mislead anyone.

“This just went out to our members,” the group’s head Matt Seaholm told the Journal Sentinel. “I’m sure the liberals will try to make a mountain out of a molehill in an attempt to distract voters’ attention from the issues.”

Here’s a copy of the mailings and complaint filed against AFP and WFA which was obtained by the Journal Sentinel:

AFP+complaint