Elections

Anonymous Kansas Abortion Texts Traced to Ex-Congressman’s PAC: Report

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The phone numbers that were sent the texts, which misled voters on an amendment on abortion rights, were leased from a Nevada-based tech firm.

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A political action committee led by a one-time Kansas congressman spent more than $26,000 on sending out a misleading text message urging Kansans to vote for an amendment that would strip women of their right to an abortion under the state constitution, according to The Washington Post. The text message was crafted by Do Right PAC and sent out via numbers leased from Alliance Forge, the Nevada-based, Republican-affiliated tech firm. “Alliance Forge did not consult on this message’s messaging strategy or content,” the company’s chief executive told the Post. Do Right PAC is chaired by former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp, a conservative who served between 2011 and 2017, and who did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the Post. The newspaper was tipped off to the Huelskamp PAC’s involvement by multiple unnamed sources close to the matter. The original messages instructed Kansans to vote “YES on the amendment [to] give women a choice” and “protect women’s health.” But a “yes” vote on Tuesday’s ballot would be to vote against the abortion rights movement, doing away with legal abortions.

Read it at The Washington Post