Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
State officials are warning residents about false claims on mail-in voting that are coming in the form of robocalls.
The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and Pennsylvania Department of State said this week that complaints have been received by the state that there are “robocalls falsely claiming that personal information about mail-in voters will be shared with law enforcement agencies seeking to arrest people on outstanding warrants, and with credit card companies seeking to collect outstanding debts.”
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Disinformation campaigns aren’t uncommon in elections. Foreign influence in the 2016 political cycle gained widespread attention with several high-profile investigations.
“Unfortunately, every election season brings a wave of disinformation purveyed by dishonest sources hoping to mislead voters and influence the election outcome,” Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar said. “Pennsylvanians must be vigilant against such lies, which are nothing less than an attempt to suppress their vote, and should only rely on verified official sources of election information such as votespa.com.”
Officials said law enforcement are investigating “blatant attempts to suppress mail-in voting.” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said violations of law will be prosecuted by his office.
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“These false and targeted robocalls are another desperate tactic to scare eligible Americans from participating in the election,” Shapiro said. “Don’t listen to their lies – vote. We will protect every eligible ballot. All Pennsylvanians can be confident that voting by mail is safe, secure, and legal.”
The Washington Posts reported last month that two right-wing political operatives known for making bizarre and outlandish claims about Republican, Democratic, and government officials appeared to be behind robocalls making similar claims to voters in battleground states.
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Although mail-in voting has become a bit of a political hot potato, both Democrats and Republicans have been promoting in Pennsylvania in light of the pandemic. Mail-in voting was widely used in Bucks County in the June primary election.
Boockvar and Shapiro asked residents to “check the reliability of information before believing it to be true or sharing it.”
Information on voting can be found through reputable local media outlets and on VotesPA.com.
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Residents can report any suspected election scams or disinformation campaigns to law enforcement or to the Department of State at 1-877-VOTESPA.
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