Reply #11: Raleigh News a& Observer: Obama: Robocalls 'extremely disturbing' [View All]

(I'm running behind so news won't be so fancy tonight, partly because of these robo calls tying
me up with media and NC SBOE)

Obama: Robocalls 'extremely disturbing'
Submitted by ryanteaguebeckwith on April 30, 2008 -

The Barack Obama campaign said the "Lamont Williams" calls were "extremely disturbing."

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, legal counsel Bob Bauer said that recent robocalls by Women's Voices Women Vote to North Carolina voters fit "the classic model of voter suppression" by introducing confusion just before an election.

But he stopped short of saying that the calls were designed to suppress votes, noting that the group said that the calls were not meant to be misleading.

"They have said it's inadvertent and I understand it will not happen again," he said.

He said the group has pledged to cooperate with state regulators and apologized for the mistakes, so the Obama campaign does not see any reason to push for legal action.

Still, Bauer said that the Obama campaign will have "no tolerance" for voter suppression efforts in the future and is encouraging voters to report them on its Web site.

http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/obama_robocalls_extremely_disturbing