Fedorchak files federal election complaints over text messages; alleges fraud, election interference

Complaints were filed with the Federal Election Commission and Federal Communications Commission asking the agencies to investigate the messages, campaign manager Sean Cleary wrote in a Monday email to the North Dakota Monitor.

Shane Goettle, the campaign’s attorney, said the complaint to the FEC alleges election interference and the complaint to the FCC alleges the “use of texts in a fraudulent manner.”

“We’ve alerted the U.S. Attorney’s Office to this as well, because they have a responsibility to ensure that our elections are run in ways that aren’t patently deceptive to voters, and they have a responsibility to ensure that elections are run in a fair and impartial manner,” Goettle said.

The messages included texts with fake news headlines saying Fedorchak had suspended her campaign, as well as a manipulated video of Fedorchak stating she was withdrawing from the race.

“We are very concerned that if we don’t file this complaint now, that we’re going to see this repeated in the future,” Goettle said.

The campaign did not release the complaints to the public.

In a June 11 press conference denouncing the messages, Fedorchak said her campaign believes the texts reached thousands of North Dakotans.

“This is, at minimum, election fraud, and it’s a desperate tactic to influence and discourage voters,” Fedorchak said at the time.

She said that she didn’t have any evidence another campaign was behind the messages.

Fedorchak, who serves on the North Dakota Public Service Commission, won the North Dakota Republican primary election for the U.S. House race with approximately 46% of the vote, according to unofficial results from the North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office.

Fedorchak has held a seat on the PSC since 2013 and serves as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.