Some voters in the 18th Senate District are getting misleading information in the mail about the deadline for absentee voting in the recall election between Republican incumbent Sen. Randy Hopper and Democrat Jessica King.
Absentee voter applications sent by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity tell voters to return the mailing by Aug. 11, two days after Aug. 9 recall election. Oshkosh Deputy Clerk Angela Joeckel said ballots that arrive after Aug. 9 would not be counted in any way. She said Thursday, Aug. 4, is the last day the clerk’s office can send an absentee ballot out by mail.
Mailings from AFP with incorrect election dates were also sent out in at least two of the other five districts in which recall electionswill be held on Tuesday, those represented by Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls and Rob Cowles of Allouez.
And the Democratic National Committee has been placing calls giving the wrong date for the recall election against Republican Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse.
Wisconsin Government Accountability Board spokesman Reid Magney says DNC officials were contacted about the calls with the wrong date and they told election officials the calls would stop.
The GAB is also urging voters who want to cast absentee ballots to not rely on mailings but instead to contact their local election official.
“They can receive and apply for an absentee ballot via other parties, but they do need to send (the applications for ballots) to us,” Joeckel said. “Eventually, those groups will forward the applications to us, but it’s quicker to send it directly to us. But either way, the actual ballot has to be received at the clerk’s office on Aug. 9.”
Full Article: Political groups get recall election date wrong | The Oshkosh Northwestern | thenorthwestern.com.