Officials warn voters about fake election materials as Wisconsin’s April 1 election nears

Crawford’s campaign spokesman, Derrick Honeyman, sent a statement regarding the mailers:

Our campaign is not involved or associated with these postcards. There is a lot of false information swirling in this race, including deceptive ads paid for by Elon Musk. We encourage voters to visit myvote.wi.gov and make a plan to cast their ballot on or before April 1st.

Green Bay City Clerk Celestine Jeffreys is also warning about phony election materials. She said if you get something that doesn’t have the city’s logo, don’t trust it.

“Major concerns, major. What on Earth? What are they thinking? And I’m not going to presume that they made a mistake, I’m going to presume that was deliberate,” Jeffreys said.

Jeffreys hasn’t heard any complaints about intentionally misleading election materials in Green Bay, but said people should tread carefully. She said voters should call the city right away to verify the election material if they think it may be fake.

Early absentee voting in most municipalities including Green Bay begins Tuesday, March 18. You have until March 28 to request one, but Jeffreys said to plan ahead.

“By the 28th, if you’re requesting an absentee ballot, you’re not gonna get it in time. So we’re gonna fulfill your request, because that’s what we’re required to do by law, but like Christmas, if you want to get something, plan two weeks ahead,” Jeffreys said.

Absentee ballots, including ones by mail, need to be returned to the clerk’s office by 8 p.m. April 1. You can also use the ballot box outside city hall before then.

The WEC sent the following statement:

Voters should be cautious about any unofficial voting-related communications – including text messages, emails, mailers, phone calls, robocalls, postcards, and more – from unfamiliar sources. Sometimes, these misleading communications even appear to mimic communications from an official government source. They often use outdated, incomplete, or simply inaccurate data that they communicate to voters.