Did Republican Tom Barrett Intentionally Deceive Black Voters?
It's an open question - and could be a huge issue in the MI-07 swing district.
The Republican candidate for Michigan's 7th Congressional District, Tom Barrett, is facing accusations of attempting to mislead Black voters about the date of the upcoming election. The controversy stems from an advertisement placed in The Michigan Bulletin, a Black-owned newspaper serving the Lansing area, which incorrectly stated that Election Day was on November 6th instead of the actual date, November 5th.
Key Details
The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus filed a complaint on Sunday, calling for an investigation into Barrett's campaign for potential voter disenfranchisement.
The full-page ad in the October 2 edition of The Michigan Bulletin featured the message "On Nov. 6 vote for Tom Barrett" and included a disclaimer stating it was paid for by Tom Barrett for Congress.
A similar advertisement with the correct date of Election Day was published by the campaign in the City Pulse - a local paper that is not Black-owned.
As of Sunday, over a week after the ad's publication, the campaign had not issued a correction.
Barrett Campaign Response
Barrett's campaign has strongly denied any intentional wrongdoing, describing the incident as a "proofing error". Jason C. Roe, a spokesperson for Barrett's campaign, stated:
"Our campaign has been dedicated to engaging with the Black community and Black leaders. Our aim is to garner more support from Black voters, and this was simply a proofing error."
The campaign indicated that they were informed about the mistake by the publisher over the weekend and that a corrected version of the advertisement would appear in the next issue.
Implications
If an investigation proves that the “proofing error” was actually not an error at all, but an ad intentionally placed to deceive of voters, felony charges could be brought.
Another Republican, another potential felony…
Share This News
Voters deserve some answers about whether Barrett’s campaign intended to mislead. We should all call on him for answers while boosting his Democratic opponent.
Michigan’s 7th Congressional District is a crucial swing district. The seat was vacated by Elissa Slotkin when she decided to run for Senate in Michigan.
The Democrat running for the seat is Curtis Hertel.
Members of our 2024 Digital Field Team in the Reach app can click here to share this graphic! (If you have yet to join the team, here’s how!)
live in a very red part of this district and was furious when I heard about this. Lansing is a progressive area and helped the Elissa Slotkin win. Most of the district is red, so without Lansing, it would have been hard.
This is a Travesty, Nick, these dirty rotten tactics by this MAGA Republican party makes me so mad. I find it hard to believe that Americans would Ever vote for trump, but here we are. Thanks Nick, for your post today.Vote Blue Up and Down the Ballot in November, people,and will reStack ASAP 💯👍🇺🇸💙🌊🌊🌊🌊