A fake email designed to look like official Bucks County election correspondence and promoting specific political candidates has prompted officials to issue a warning to voters about potential misinformation.
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Below is information from the Bucks County Board of Elections:
A county resident last week notified the Bucks County Board of Elections Office of an email originating from a Gmail address titled “BucksCounty Elections” that advocated for political candidates of one political party in the May 20 municipal primary election and encouraged the recipient to click a link to apply for a mail-in ballot.
It was understandably unclear to the recipient, who had already applied for a ballot, whether this message was an official communication from the County. BOE wishes to clarify that this was not official Board of Elections correspondence.
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“While this message does not appear to be malicious or even necessarily intended to mislead, it did cause some concern on the part of a voter that we were happy to clear up,” said Board of Elections Director Tyler Burns. “I hope this can serve as a reminder to Bucks County voters that the Board of Elections and our staff are here to help.”
BOE asks residents to take note of the following:
- The Board of Elections rarely corresponds via email with voters; When it does, those emails typically come in response to questions emailed to BOE or regarding specific elections matters, such as poll worker assignments or mail-in ballot issues
- Any emails originating from the Bucks County Board of Elections will contain either the suffix “buckscounty[dot]org” or “buckscounty[dot]gov,” never from a Gmail or similar non-government address
- The Board of Elections Office will never emphasize support for one candidate or political party over another
- Cybersecurity experts recommend against clicking links in emails or text messages if they were received unexpectedly, or if the recipient is unsure who sent them
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If in doubt about any election-related communication, call the Board of Elections Office at 215-348-6154.
To learn more about voting in Bucks County, visit BucksCounty.gov/Elections.
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