Bogus NC Robo-Calls Similar to Those Used in Virginia and Ohio

[FourScore]

BREAKING: Voter deception in NC linked to national strategy
by ProgressiveSouth
Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 08:00:30 AM PDT

As reported yesterday in the Raleigh News & Observer, African-American households are receiving anonymous robo-calls with misleading information about voting. Facing South has now learned that those calls are very similar to tactics recently used in Virginia and Ohio, suggesting they may be linked to a national voter deception strategy.

In one North Carolina call, the caller falsely states that voters must send in a "voter registration packet" before voting. The State Board of Elections released a transcript of the call ( you can also listen to it at the Democracy North Carolina website http://www.democracy-nc.org/nc/spprncall.wav ):

"Hello, this is Lamont Williams. In the next few days, you will receive a voter registration packet in the mail. All you need to do is sign it, date it and return your application. Then you will be able to vote and make your voice heard. Please return the voter registration form when it arrives. Thank you."

Facing South has learned that voters in Virginia received calls with the same message before that state's Feb. 12 primaries -- although, the Virginia State Board of Elections stated they thought it was an attempt at identity theft, not voter disenfranchisement. As WAMU 88.5 reported:

State police and elections officers in Virginia are warning residents about a possible identity theft scam. The state board of elections says at least a dozen people in central and southern Virginia have received automated phone calls this week telling them to expect a voter registration packet in the mail. The residents say they were instructed by the caller to fill out the packets and mail them in. State Board of Elections Secretary Nancy Rodrigues says the state did not make these calls and does not register voters in that manner.

I called the Virginia State Board of Elections, and a spokeswoman told me they did not have transcripts of the calls and did not know whether or not they came from "Lamont Williams." She said they had referred the matter to state police.

Facing South has also learned that, last year, voters in Ohio also received calls with false voter information, using the exact same name of the supposed caller in North Carolina. In November 2007, a voter in Columbus, Ohio wrote in to the Buckeye State Blog with this eerily familiar story:

I just got a weird robo-call that I suspect may be a form of voter
suppression, albeit kinda braindead. From memory, a stentorian voice
reminiscent of James Earl Jones says: "Hello. This is Lamont Williams. In a few days you should be getting a voter registration form in the mail. Please fill it out and return promptly and you will be able to vote. Thank you."

Since the election is Tuesday, the message is nonsensical. Also, I can't find any information on this Lamont Williams. The caller ID was blocked ("unknown caller").
As Bob Hall at Democracy North Carolina said in a statement:

This is another in a long line of deceptive practices used in North Carolina and elsewhere that particularly target African-American voters. In our view, this phone message plainly violates North Carolina law. We ask the Attorney General, State Bureau of Investigation, and the State Board of Elections to investigate, expose, and prosecute the sponsors of these calls.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/29/105711/770/895/505589

[haymakeragain]

1. Hmmmmmm, sounds... Rovian.

But why would they target African Americans for disenfranchisement? Oh yeah, there's an African American candidate.

Why is this campaign so Rovian? Inquiring minds want to know.

[leftofcool]

2. Sounds like identity theft. These people will stoop to anything to get your info

[FourScore]

4. Well that doesn't make sense because

it doesn't sound like any packets were actually SENT and no personal info was collected.

[leftofcool]

7. In a way it does make sense and here is why

these people work in groups and what they often do is a test run without ever sending any information. Their next step is to try to collect the info over the phone without ever sending any fake packets. They are ruthless.

[FourScore]

8. There have been no follow-up calls.

My first guess is voter suppression and intimidation.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

12. It isn't identity theft because the registration forms are NEVER sent

the goal is to make the person think they are not registered and therefore will not vote.

[MADem]

3. There are a couple of semi-famous "Lamont Williams" types. A football player, singer...

I rather doubt it was THIS Lamont Williams, though--the James Earl Jones-like voice doesn't seem to go with the picture:

http://www.lamontwilliams.net/

I hope they find out who is behind this shit--I can't STAND either voter suppression OR ID theft--or worse, BOTH!

[grantcart]

5. Should be simple enough to find out who is making these calls

[FourScore]

6. One would think. n/t

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

9. well who would it benefit if Black voters didn't turnout? And we have same day reg during early voti

hmmmm no one was expecting them to vote in the GOP primary.

We have same day registration during early voting, and hopefully
people will vote early.

[TheWraith]

10. And the telephone records haven't been subpoenaed.... why?

Okay, it's illegal, and even if it weren't, it constitutes harassment if the people don't want the calls. That entitles them to get the phone company to turn the records over to police, thus determining where these calls originated from.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

11. Follow-up on NC robo-call investigation -unlikely the bogus calls are related to identity theft

Follow-up on NC robo-call investigation Facing South

As we reported earlier today, illegal robo-calls giving false voter information to mostly African-American households in North Carolina are very similar to calls made to voters in southern Virginia before that state's primary this spring (as well as Ohio last year).

The Virginia State Board of Elections believed that the calls, which asked voters to return a "voter registration packet" that the caller said would be coming in the mail, were an attempt at identity theft.

Several Facing South readers have asked our opinion: are these calls attempted ID theft or voter deception?

It seems unlikely the bogus calls are related to identity theft, for two reasons:

(1) Why would identity theft criminals make a robo-call ahead of time, announcing their plans? Since they're one-way calls, they can't get personal information over the phone -- the calls just announce their plans.

(2) As far as we know, the mysterious "voter registration packets" never actually arrive, making it impossible for the would-be ID thieves to get the information they want.

(3) Finally, the timing: the calls always come shortly before an election. When a voter receives the call, it makes them think they aren't registered, and therefore shouldn't vote. Very clever, and strong evidence that confusing and discouraging voters, not ID theft, is the crime at hand.

ALSO: Our cross-post of the original piece is a top-rated diary at DailyKos. Over there, we have two more reports of "Lamont" in Ohio.
Labels: north carolina primary, voter registration, voting rights

posted by Chris Kromm at 11:50 AM |

http://southernstudies.org/facingsouth/2008/04/follow-up-on-nc-robo-call-investigation.asp