Karas Accuses Schroeder of Fake Texts

Pete Karas, the Green Party candidate for Wisconsin secretary of state, filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Monday. The filing charges that Jay Schroeder, the Republican opponent, sent text messages to voters that falsely appeared to come from Karas's campaign.

The complaint alleges a violation of Wisconsin law regarding false representations intended to affect voting. Karas stated the messages were designed to pull support away from JoCasta Zamarripa, the Democratic candidate in the race. Zamarripa described the texts as a futile attempt to take her votes and called the incident a serious electioneering violation.

According to the documents, the texts were sent over the weekend. They featured an image of Karas and a headline reading, "Not a duopoly candidate." The messages urged recipients to "Vote Pete Karas for Secretary of State on November 3." They also mentioned healthcare and education costs, which Karas said are not central issues in his specific race.

A screenshot included in the complaint shows the confusion caused by the messages. When a recipient replied with "Stop," the system responded with, "Jay for Wisconsin: You are now opted-out and will receive no further messages." This reply confirmed the messages originated from Schroeder's campaign despite using Karas's name and image.

Karas said he learned about the texts from reporters over the weekend. He noted that his own campaign had not sent any text messages to voters. "I was distraught about that, obviously. It's really low of Jay [Schroeder] to do that," Karas said in an interview Monday. He argued that the impersonation undermines Schroeder's claims about election integrity.

Schroeder did not respond immediately to requests for comment on Monday. His campaign focuses on eliminating the Wisconsin Elections Commission and returning election administration to the secretary of state. Schroeder claims this change will restore integrity to the process. Other candidates and commission officials have largely rejected that view, noting that the current system has functioned since 1974.

The presence of a third candidate has raised concerns among Democrats that Karas could split the vote. This could allow Schroeder to win with less than 50% of the total. Karas believes the fake texts hurt his position more than they help Schroeder. He said the messages did not accurately represent his platform or cause.