Wisconsin voters outraged over recall intimidation tactics

As we reported earlier this week, the left-leaning Greater Wisconsin Political Fund sparked controversy after mailing out notices to voters that included the names, addresses and voting records of their neighbors.

Now, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that recipients of the intimidating mailer are voicing their outrage:

Jane Boutan thought it was an invasion of privacy.

Corrine Greuling worried about her safety.

Viola Miller wondered if it could be used to steal her vote.

They and others got upset after the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund mailed fliers over the weekend listing people's names, addresses and whether they voted in the November 2008 and 2010 elections, as well as the same information for a dozen of their neighbors.

"What am I supposed to do? Go shame my neighbor? Whether my neighbor voted or not is none of my business," said Boutan, who lives in Milwaukee's Sherman Park neighborhood.

[...]

The [state Government Accountability Board] has gotten a large number of complaints from around the state in the last few days about the direct-mail flier, which it points out did not come from the board. Kevin Kennedy, the state's chief election official, said this is the first time that a group has used voter lists in this way.

[...]

Boutan, Miller and Greuling all said they understand that voting records are public, but they were angry that the Greater Wisconsin Political Fund went to great lengths to spread their information to their neighbors.

Plus Miller, who lives in Waukesha, is now worried that since she's already a registered voter and will not be required to show her ID to vote on Tuesday, someone could use her name and address to vote.

"Anybody can go and vote with my name, and there's my vote stolen for somebody I might not have voted for," said Miller. "It wasn't even in an envelope. It's got my name and address on one side of a piece of paper open to everybody."