Fake Call Centers Reportedly Taking Virginians' Votes Over the Phone
Fraudulent call centers have been calling voters in predominantly African-American households in Virginia and offering to take their votes over the phone, a voter-suppression watchdog group told The Huffington Post Monday.
Purporting to be the county board of elections, the callers tell respondents that because they have been "great voters" in the past, and because of the long lines expected at polling stations, the voters can simply make their selection over the phone, said Barbara Ardwine, the president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
"It appears to be a call center because people say they can hear other people making calls in the background," said Ardwine, whose group has been collecting reports of voter suppression and intimidation through its hotline, 866-OUR-VOTE.
There's no way to know how widespread the tactic is, and a spokeswoman for the Virginia Board of Elections did not respond to request for comment.
But it's not the first time that voters have reported being told they can vote over the phone, most recently in Virginia, Florida Indiana, and North Carolina. Until now, however, the reported incidents have always been robocalls. Prospective voters are given a number, usually a defunct line, to call on Election Day.
With the "call centers," voters would have no way of knowing they'd been tricked.
"This one is real nefarious because they're live human beings [taking the calls]," Ardwine said. "That's really new."
| 