Aug 27, 2024 By Brad Hundt 3 min read

As the election season grows more intense, state and local officials are warning voters to be on the lookout for scam text alerts about their registration status.

In fact, the Fayette County Elections Bureau has put a warning in red letters at the top of its web page warning about a text message that falsely alerts voters to a problem with their registration status, and then directs them to click on a link to update it.

“We don’t want people to get scammed,” said Marybeth Kuznik, Fayette County’s elections director. Kuznik noted that neither Fayette County nor the Pennsylvania Department of State would contact voters by text if there was an issue with their registration.

The text states, “We have you in our records as not registered to vote. Check your registration status & register in 2 minutes,” and then gives a website that the recipient should visit. As with many other scams, the individuals or groups behind the messages are probably looking to nab money or steal identities.

And elections officials are bracing for more scams. Melanie Ostrander, Washington County’s electrons director, explained that “this is the first of what we expect to be many” before the vote on Nov. 5. She also said if voters have any concerns about the status of their registration, they can contact their office or go online to vote.pa.gov.

Ostrander pointed out that the 2020 election, which was carried out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, also had its share of scams, “and here we are four years later, in the same situation.”

She added, “It’s a shame knowing the larger turnout and the more involved people are for a presidential election, that there are individuals using that to their advantage to collect information from voters.”

Kuznik, Ostrander and Joseph Lemley, the elections director in Greene County, have heard from a handful of voters who have received the text messages. Lemley also said that some voters have received email messages and physical mail asking them to fill out applications for mail-in ballots, and he emphasized that his office does not send any mail out to voters unless it is requested.

Lemley said he would “encourage any voter who would receive any mailing or digital message to make sure of the source prior to engaging in communication.”

A lot of the scams are meant to ensnare elderly voters, and AARP earlier this year recommended that if, for example, someone calls you on the phone and claims that you are not registered to vote, you should hang up. Registration by text, email or over the phone is not allowed anywhere in the United States. While you can register online, officials strongly urge that unsolicited links not be used.

AARP also says voters should be wary of fake surveys, petitions and polls, donation scams and robocalls.

“We would never send anything by text,” Lemley said.