Officials across the country are investigating reports of suspicious robocalls that may be intended to suppress the vote.
In Michigan, some voters received calls urging them to vote Wednesday, officials there said. New York Attorney General Letitia James announced her office is investigating calls encouraging people to stay home on Election Day, and Nebraska’s Secretary of State Robert Evnen said his office has received reports of anonymous phone calls telling voters to “stay home and stay safe.”
In addition, there have been scattered reports of robocalls in Minnesota spreading disinformation, according to state Attorney General Keith Ellison.
The FBI is investigating reports of robocalls telling people to stay home because of long lines at the polls, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The FBI wouldn’t confirm the inquiry, saying, “We are aware of reports of robocalls and have no further comment.”
Robocalls aren’t uncommon during political campaigns, including to try to suppress the vote. “Vote suppression does not just come from robocalls,” according to a 2009 paper in the Michigan Technology Law Review. “However, among all the other various forms for which vote suppression may occur, robocalls bring something extra to the table — they can do it quicker and cheaper.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a tweet that her office has received reports of “multiple robocalls going to Flint residents that, due to long lines, they should vote tomorrow.
“Obviously this is FALSE and an effort to suppress the vote,” Nessel wrote on Twitter. “No long lines and today is the last day to vote. Don’t believe the lies. Have your voice heard!”
In an interview on Bloomberg TV, Nessel said she has investigated robocalls in Michigan before, but they are usually financial scams, not attempts at voter suppression. “Normally they are trying to con people out of their money,” Nessel said. “Today they are trying to con people out of their vote.”
Michigan officials said they countered the robocalls with a press release as well as tweets from the governor and secretary of state’s office. A U.S. official monitoring Election Day issues said he believed those efforts have been effective.
In Minnesota, Ellison’s office is encouraging residents to report the robocalls so attorneys can track down the perpetrators, said John Stiles, deputy chief of staff.
“The most important thing is to vote,” Stiles said in a phone interview. “That said, if people have a minute, maybe after they have voted, alerting us would be helpful. The more information we get, the easier it will be.”
It’s not entirely clear if the robocalls encouraging voters to stay home are election related.
Alex Quilici, chief executive officer of YouMail Inc., a telecommunications security company, said the company has detected millions of the “stay home” calls throughout October, and that many don’t mention voting or the election. One version of the call says, “This is just a test call. … Time to stay home. Stay safe and stay home,” according to Quilici.
“Today is on the higher end of that volume but doesn’t seem to be accelerating beyond that,” he said. “We don’t know for sure that this is election related, though with the ‘stay home’ messaging that is certainly a possibility.”
Quilici said the calls have been received in 316 area codes, “which is basically everywhere.” It’s not clear who is behind them.
Alyza Sebenius, David Welch, David McLaughlin and Michelle Fay Cortez contributed to this report.
