GOP chief denies role in Chicago election robocalls

CHICAGO - Robocalls that Chicago election officials blamed for the no-show of 2,000 election judges this week were recorded by people helping Cook County Republicans recruit poll workers and who were trying to ensure those judges voted for the GOP, according to recordings of the calls.

But the chairman of the Cook County GOP says the calls were not sanctioned by the party.

Chicago election officials have referred the issue to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, which has begun an investigation. No charges have been filed.

The calls were first brought to the public's attention Monday by city officials who labeled them "intimidation" and who later linked them to the higher than usual absentee rate of judges at the polls. While no one claims the calls affected the outcome of the vote, election officials said the judges' confusion left them scrambling to find last-minute stand-ins and contributed to long lines and delays at polling places throughout the city.

Political parties typically recruit judges to monitor polling places for any problems. They are paid $170 for the day.

The intent behind the calls remains unclear. One call says, falsely, that Republican-recruited judges must vote Republican, and others incorrectly told judges they had to report for additional training.

"We expect all judges to vote. Part of being a Republican judge means supporting our Republican ticket," says one of the automated calls. "We also encourage you to bring a friend to vote to help increase our turnout."

Audio of the calls was first posted online by WGN-TV and later obtained by The Associated Press.

In parts of heavily Democratic Chicago, Republicans have had a hard time finding party faithful to serve as judges, and often fill spots with Democrats. This year, Cook County GOP officials said they were making efforts to recruit an additional 5,000 judges because they were worried about voter fraud in what was expected to be a close race between Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and GOP challenger Bruce Rauner.

Rauner won the election.

In one of the automated calls, GOP activist Sharon Meroni describes herself as the "coordinator for the Republican election judge program." She asked judges to notify the party - not just election officials - of any voting problems. That call made no mention of how to vote.

Meroni did not respond to questions in an email exchange about the calls.

In some of the other calls, the speaker is James Parrilli, a Republican ward committeeman in Chicago. He did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar said he had no knowledge of the calls until they became public.

"I can't comment on what Ms. Meroni's intentions were," he said. "I can tell you that she did not have the authority to do any robocalls on behalf of the Cook County Republican Party."

Illinois Republican Party spokesman Andrew Welhouse said the calls were detrimental to its poll-watching efforts.

"It hurt our recruitment and placement of the judges," he said.