A political watchdog group accused the Catholic Diocese of Madison of illegally campaigning on behalf of the proposed same sex marriage ban. It is unclear if the diocese will face any legal repercussions.
The diocese distributed pamphlets outside of St. Maria Goretti Parish, 5313 Flad Ave., encouraging people to vote yes for the same sex marriage amendment on Nov 7.
By law, groups spending more than $25 to support or oppose a referendum are required to register with the State Elections Board. Groups spending more than $1,000 must file detailed fundraising and spending reports. The diocese has not registered with the state.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign brought an unofficial complaint to the SEB questioning the legality of the diocese's campaigning.
According to SEB Public Information Officer Kyle Richmond, the board will not take any action on the allegations until an official complaint is filed.
""There's nothing in the law that requires a sworn complaint from a citizen for the elections board to take enforcement actions,"" WDC Executive Director Mike McCabe said.
McCabe pointed to the SEB's response to a similar memo from his group questioning gubernatorial candidate Mark Green's campaign contributions. It was this initial memo prompting the SEB's investigation and verdict deeming the contributions illegal.
""[The SEB] have acted on many, many issues that we have raised without a formal complaint,"" McCabe said, suggesting this might be an excuse.
CDM Director of Communications Brent King said he is looking into whether any mistakes were made in distributing the pamphlets.
""We stand by our responsibility to engage in the cultural and political sphere in which we live,"" King said.
""What we were told was that [the pamphlets] were being distributed to everyone outside of the church,"" McCabe said. ""To print up enough fliers to give to the entire congregation or anyone else who is outside the church certainly is more than $25,"" he said.
The WDC complaint asked the SEB to look into whether the diocese has spent more than $1,000 and enforce state campaign laws. If the diocese has violated the law, the state could impose fitting penalties.
""If we shine light on this one instance that was brought to our attention, it might smoke out other similar activities,"" McCabe said.
