Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link has requested an investigation into unidentified “robo” calls that were made between Feb. 15 through Feb. 19 to voters who requested Vote by Mail ballots for the March 12 Uniform Municipal Elections.
Without explicitly saying as much, the robo call script implies that the call is from the Supervisor of Elections Office, warning voters of possible criminal penalties associated with the collection of Vote by Mail ballots.
“The script refers to ‘our office’ several times, and ends by asking voters to contact the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office with any questions, along with the main SOE number. The call has no tag line identifying its true source. The call also implied the SOE is conducting investigations into Vote by Mail fraud. That is not the case,” Supervisor Link said.
Supervisor Link has notified the State Attorney’s Office and the Palm Beach County branch of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) of the calls.
“Calling voters with a message about criminal investigations and penalties serves only to frighten and intimidate voters. Doing so, and implying that the Supervisor is making the call without identifying the source of the call, is illegal,” Supervisor Link added.
The 60 second robo call, was made to an unknown number of voters, several of whom recorded and reported the call to the Supervisor’s Office.
“I encourage any voter who has questions about Vote by Mail to call our offices at 561-656-6200. Our Elections Specialists will be happy to answer any questions and to help a voter place a Vote by Mail request,” Supervisor Link said.
The script of the call is below:
(male voice/60 seconds)
Vote by Mail ballots have been mailed. Voters beware. News report of possible fraud of persons illegally collecting vote by mail ballots. Our office is notifying you that Florida law provides for severe penalties up to and including fines and jail time for any person who provides or offers to provide and any person who accepts payment or benefits in exchange for requesting, collecting, delivering, or otherwise physically possessing more than two vote by mail ballots per election. Our office has been conducting ongoing investigations into reports of vote by mail fraud and individuals receiving payments to collect vote by mail ballots. If you have any questions on how to return your vote by mail ballots, please contact the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Office at 561-656-6200.