Dirty Tricks In Wisconsin: Secret Group Shuts Down Phones Of Scott Walker’s Democratic Challenger With Spam Texts

By Scott Keyes/Think Progress

One week before Wisconsinites vote on whether or not to recall Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), a conservative group is engaged in dirty tricks that have shut down the Democratic challenger’s campaign phones.

According to multiple reports, independently verified by ThinkProgress, the following spam text message is being blasted out to many Wisconsin cell phones:

FRM:WI@obamasaliar.com
SUBJ:Union Puppet
MSG:Tom Barrett is a Union Puppet who will give Union Thugs everything they want. Call & ask why 414-271-8050

The phone number is that of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s campaign headquarters. The influx of calls following this spam text message has shut down phones at Barrett’s campaign, just seven days before Election Day and right as get-out-the-vote efforts are ramping up.

If you live in Wisconsin and have received this message or have any tips about its origin, leave a comment below.

Robocalls spam WI Democrats, telling them not to vote in recall elections

By Kase Wickman/Raw Story

Today marks Wisconsin's recall election, and polls are expected to be crowded all day. The unusual nature of the election — after all, it's not often that voters are riled up enough to draw up a petition to recall their lawmakers — has confused some about procedure, and the robocalls that some in Wisconsin are reporting receiving are certainly not helping.

Local news blog WI Voices reported that registered Democrats have been receiving recorded calls, claiming to be from a Right to Life group. The recorded call instructs them that they don't need to go to the polling place to vote, saying, “You don’t need to worry. Your absentee ballot is in the mail.”

Today is the last day polling places will be open for the Democratic primary, however, so absentee ballots that have not reached their intended recipients, or completed absentee ballots that are put in the mail today will not be counted.

"This robocall is illegal activity and election fraud at its worst," WI Voices wrote. They note that the calls have been coming from phone number 703-410-3201, and warn to look out for 703 area codes.

Another Wisconsin blog, Blue Cheddar, pointed out that googling that same number brings up online complaints from people getting robocalls from "Joe the Plumber" telling them to support Scott Walker last March.

Recall elections will decide the fates of nine Wisconsin state senators in the coming weeks.