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The text messages came Monday, a day before Kansans were set to vote on an amendment that would require abortion protections in their state constitution.
the text he claimed that passage of the measure, which could allow the Republican-controlled legislature to ban abortion, would safeguard “choice.” If the amendment fails, constitutional protections would be maintained, strengthening the current law that allows abortion in the first 22 weeks of pregnancy.
“Women in KS are losing the option of reproductive rights,” the text warned. “Voting YES on the amendment will give women a choice. Vote YES to protect women’s health.”
The unsigned The messages were described as misleading by numerous recipients, including former Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who also served as secretary of health and human services in the Obama administration. She told The Washington Post that she was “surprised to receive the message, which made it clear that there was a very specific effort to use language carefully designed to confuse people before they go to the polls.”
The tactic was all the more alarming to abortion rights advocates and watchdogs because its source was unknown.
But the messages were crafted by a political action committee led by Tim Huelskamp, a former hardline Republican congressman from Kansas, and enabled by a fast-growing Republican-aligned tech company, according to people familiar with the matter. ‘matter they spoke on the subject. condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the publicity blitz. The individuals and groups behind the campaign have not been previously reported.
The messages were sent from phone numbers that had been leased by Sparks, Nevada-based Alliance Forge. Founded in 2021, Alliance Forge describes itself as “the nation’s fastest-growing political technology company, proudly serving federal, state and local campaigns around the world.” nation”.
The numbers were leased by Alliance Forge from Twilio, a San Francisco-based communications company. The numbers were deactivated Monday evening, according to a Twilio The spokeswoman, Cris Paden, said the account she had rented to them violated company policies that prohibit the “dissemination of misinformation.”
In a statement, Alliance Forge CEO David Espinosa said that “Alliance Forge did not consult the strategy or messaging content of this message.” It said the company was notified Monday night of a “possible content violation” and “immediately began working with the Twilio team to identify the source and nature of the content.”
The Alliance Forge client that sent the messages was Do Right PAC, chaired by Huelskamp, who served in Congress from 2011 to 2017. The PAC has raised more than $532,000 and spent more than $203,000 in support of the amendment, according to a filing last month. . Huelskamp did not respond to calls and a text message seeking comment.
The Kansas Commission on Governmental Ethics said Monday that “under current law, text message advocacy on constitutional ballot initiatives does not require paid disclaimers.”
This election cycle, Alliance Forge has received more than $60,000 for federal campaigns alone, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. His clients include Adam Laxalt, a Republican candidate for the United States Senate in Nevada, and a committee associated with Kathy Barnette, a political commentator and unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate in Pennsylvania. Alliance Forge provided text messaging services for both, the documents show.
The messages sent Monday did not mention Alliance Forge or its client, leaving no clear way for people receiving the messages to tell who was looking to push them in favor of a “Yes” vote.
The effort offered new evidence of the power of texting in political campaigning, as well as the covert style of communications the platform has made possible. Two days after the 2020 election, a Republican firm run by a major contributor to then-President Donald Trump’s campaign helped send unsigned text messages urging supporters in Philadelphia to converge outside a building where local election officials were counting votes. It sounded: “ALERT: Radical liberals and Democrats are trying to steal this election from Trump!”
Reports filed with the Kansas ethics commission show strong interest in the outcome of Tuesday’s referendum, the first major vote on abortion since Roe v. Wade it was overturned in June. The opposing camps have spent $11.2 million this year, with the Catholic Church and its affiliates giving $3.4 million in support of the amendment that could give lawmakers the ability to impose new restrictions on abortion and the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood spending $382,000 and $1.3 million. , respectively, to oppose it.
Espinosa, a specialist in information technology, is among the co-founders of Alliance Forge. The others they are Michael Clement, a Republican operative whose LinkedIn profile says he managed the 2020 campaign of Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), and Greg Bailor, former state director of the Republican National Committee and executive director of the Nevada Republican Party.