Report: Union Group's Election 'Block Parties' Come Under Scrutiny

Wisconsin election officials are questioning whether a liberal group broke the law by offering both free food and free rides to vote in the 8th Senate District recall election, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting.

At issue are five get-out-the-vote "block parties" sponsored by Wisconsin Jobs Now, a coalition of community and labor groups led by the Service Employees International Union, the newspaper said.

The coalition has been supporting state Rep. Sandy Pasch (D-Whitefish Bay) in her campaign against Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) in the Aug. 9 recall election.

At each party, participants were offered free food and prizes - and free shuttles to Milwaukee City Hall, where voters could cast absentee ballots.

The Journal Sentinel quoted a spokesman from state Government Accountability Board as saying it would be illegal to combine free food and transportation to the polls in the same event - even if, as the organization contends, people could take the food without boarding the buses.