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.

According to an email obtained by the Journal Sentinel, the Wisconsin Right to Life and Family Action coalition offered gift cards ranging from $25 to $75 to volunteers who hit targets for persuading voters to fill out absentee ballot applications in the July recall primary elections.

State law prohibits offering voters anything of value to vote.

Six Republican state senators face recall elections Aug. 9 against Democratic opponents chosen in primaries July 12. Recall elections are set Aug. 16 for two Democratic senators, after GOP primaries July 19. One Democratic senator has already survived a July 19 recall vote.

The recall elections will determine whether Republicans hold their edge in the Senate, now at 19-14, or whether Democrats regain control. The email, dated July 1, says the elections "put a pro-family, pro-life state Senate at stake."

It 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.

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." Landgraf said he was reviewing the issue.

Darling, a River Hills Republican, is defending her 8th Senate District seat against state Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay), on Aug. 9.

A Wisconsin Right to Life leader did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, the state Republican Party and Media Trackers, a conservative group, have filed complaints with the state's Government Accountability Board and the district attorney's office over get-out-the-vote "block parties" sponsored by a liberal jobs group, Wisconsin Jobs Now.

Over the past two weeks, the jobs group has held five such parties on Milwaukee's northwest side, offering voters free food, drawings for prizes and free shuttles to Milwaukee City Hall, where they could cast absentee ballots. Jobs Now Executive Director Mike Lauer said his organization followed the law, because nobody was required to vote in order to get the food.

But an accountability board spokesman has said free food and transportation to the polls shouldn't be part of the same event. Landgraf said he is looking into that complaint as well.

On Wednesday, the jobs organization lashed back, accusing the GOP of trying to suppress minority votes. Jobs Now has said it held the block parties in various neighborhoods to encourage minorities to vote.In other recall developments Wednesday:

In Madison, conservatives renewed their criticisms of Pasch for her involvement with Wisconsin Citizen Action, a group that backs her recall bid. Pasch sits on the board of Citizens Action but said this week she has had no contact with the group on political matters since she entered the race May 6. On Wednesday, she called the charge a "baseless accusation."

Media Trackers released emails that showed Pasch's office had been in touch with Citizens Action since she became a candidate. However, the emails do not include discussions of campaign issues.

Both Media Trackers and the GOP have filed complaints with the accountability board, asking election officials to look into whether Pasch illegally coordinated her Senate campaign with Citizen Action.

Media Trackers acquired the emails through the state's open records law. They include emails from Jennifer Epps of Citizen Action to Pasch's office, asking her to film a video stating her opposition to cuts to the Wisconsin Shares child care program. Epps also encouraged her to call into a WMCS-AM (1290) radio show on the issue.

The video was eventually filmed, as were ones by seven other elected officials, said Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action.

Darling was also asked to shoot a video, but her office declined because of her schedule, according to emails Kraig released to the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday.

He said the communication with Pasch's office were appropriate because it had to do with a policy issue, rather than campaign strategy.

In Menomonee Falls, Darling told reporters that she had sent One Wisconsin Now records sought in the second of two open records requests. The group had sued to force her to turn over emails.

Darling said the first request was complied with promptly, but not the second. She said it was done unintentionally, adding that she planned to speak to her office staff about why the request was not addressed as soon as possible.

One Wisconsin Now posted one of the emails on its website, which showed contact in May between Darling's office and the American Federation for Children. The federation works on voucher schools legislation and later ran ads in support of Darling.

Don Walker of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.