The Canberra Liberals have blamed a "rogue campaign worker" for sending a text message which falsely claimed to have been authorised by the party's director.
The text message was sent on Tuesday to people in Ginninderra, telling them to vote for the Liberal party and that they "must" vote for Joe Prevedello.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said she did not know how the text message had come about and directed any questions to the party's campaign director.
"Obviously this is not something that I have carriage of," Ms Lee said when asked if she was concerned by the message.
The text message said: "CBR needs a change of Govt.
"To vote Liberal you must: Vote 1 Joe Prevedello, 2-4 Liberal, 5-7 Belco Party
"Authorised by Adam Wojtonis for Canberra Liberals."
The Canberra Times understands Mr Wojtonis was not aware of the text message before it was sent.
Mr Wojtonis said: "The message was sent by a rogue campaign worker who is no longer a member of the party nor involved in the campaign.
"It was sent without the knowledge of Joe."
Mr Wojtonis did not say whether the party had referred the message to Elections ACT, which is responsible for enforcing the Electoral Act.
Liberal sources say there was consternation within the party that its central campaign had endorsed Mr Prevedello over the incumbent Liberal member for Ginninderra, Peter Cain.
However, it soon emerged the text message had not been sent with the authority of the party's central campaign.
The Canberra Liberals' campaign in Ginninderra has faced a series of scandals, with the ticket reduced to four candidates after Elizabeth Kikkert was dumped by the party following an internal investigation.
Darren Roberts, who is running for Ginninderra, posted derogatory material about federal politicians, endorsed posts that described the Voice referendum as a "sham" and called for a "push back" against Indigenous reconciliation efforts.
Ms Lee said they were not the party's or her views.
Mr Cain, the shadow attorney-general and member for Ginninderra, apologised earlier this month for a 2002 primary school workbook he wrote which said Aboriginal people had been "blessed" by the arrival of British colonists.
"I wholeheartedly apologise for any offence given," Mr Cain told The Guardian.
"My own understanding of First Nations history and culture has developed considerably in the over two decades since the student workbook was authored and published."
