Milwaukee residents have received pre-filled voter registration forms in the mail from a third-party group — not from the city or state — and officials say the information on those forms may be wrong or out of date.
The Milwaukee Election Commission has received more than 100 calls and emails since Friday from community members who received the mailers. While the forms themselves are official election registration forms, officials say neither the city nor the state would ever mail out pre-printed voter registration information.
Paulina Gutierrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said residents are not required to act on the forms.
"They don't have to follow it. They can ignore it, throw it in the garbage. If they have questions about voter registration, give us a call, but just rest-assured that these are not official forms and they did not use or contact us and so if the information is incorrect, that does not impact their actual voter registration." Gutierrez said.
Officials say the forms are legal, but because the information can be wrong or out of date, residents should verify their registration status at myvote.wi.gov or call the election commission.
Pastor Gregory Lewis, executive director of Souls to the Polls — a nonprofit that advocates for voter education and helps people get to polls— said he was caught off guard by the mailers.
"I wasn't even aware that there was these forms of registration." Lewis said.
Lewis said he was especially concerned that community members were receiving pre-filled registration forms from a third party through the mail.
"So if people are coming to you and they've got your information on a piece of paper, first of all, that's probably not going to get you registered." Lewis said.
Voters only need to update their registration if they have moved, changed their name, or have not voted in 4 or more years.
The last day to register by mail or online is Oct. 14. After that, residents can register at an early voting location or on Election Day.
Souls to the polls provides rides to the polling locations and the DMV to help people get a REAL ID. For more information on how to connect with them, you can reach them at 414-742-1060.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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