Bucks County officials want people to know about a potential voter intimidation/misinformation campaign.
“This is yet another attempt to sow confusion, distrust, and misinformation in our election process, and disenfranchise duly registered voters,” warns Bucks County Board of Elections Chairman Bob Harvie.
Multiple residents have said they received a call or text message from a group calling itself “Voters Protection” or “Volunteers with Voter Protection.”
The messages claim there was either a problem with a resident’s voter information or that the voter information was incorrect. Other messages said a resident isn’t registered to vote, no longer registered to vote, or that they won’t receive a mail-in ballot because of wrong identification. Voters have also been told their April Primary vote wasn’t counted due to a Voter ID problem.
Voters are instructed to call the Board of Elections. So far, no voter discrepancies have been found.
The Bucks County Board of Elections said it doesn’t call or text residents, but typically sends official mail via U.S. Mail.
If it does end call, an Elections employee will always identify themselves as a worker and the caller ID will read “County of Bucks” with the number (215) 648-6000 showing up.
Harvie condemned the fake calls and texts and swore the county would figure out who was making them.
“We will not be intimidated by rogue groups seeking to undermine our democratic institutions. We will continue to remain vigilant in conducting free and fair elections. We will ensure that every vote is counted. Voters will not be threatened on my watch,” he said.
The messages have been referred to the District Attorney’s Office. Anyone who received a call or text should contact the Board of Elections at (215) 348-6154 to make a report.
