According to officials, texts from AllVote should be ignored and flagged as a scam.
Thousands of Pennsylvania voters received a text message saying, “Records show you voted”, leading them to believe they already had votes cast for the 2024 election when they hadn’t. The message also directed them to an official Pennsylvania website with information on polling places and early on-demand voting.
The text message came from AllVote, a self-proclaimed voter-mobilization program that election officials have repeatedly flagged as a scam to be avoided and ignored. In August, Montgomery County election officials warned voters about “AllVote.com”, which was texting registered voters and claiming that they were not registered to vote to “capture personal, sensitive information from voters in an attempt to exploit them later on.” Recently, the Wisconsin Election Commission criticized AllVote over another misleading text message campaign that sent 15,000 Wisconsin voters text messages that had a link to the wrong election website.
Activist Charlotte Clymer, a contracted spokesperson for AllVote, described the texts as a well-intended reminder-turned-disastrous mistake thanks to a typo made by staffers. In their statement, the organization said, “We are mortified by this mistake and the confusion it has caused…In the heat of the campaign season, workers working long hours simply made a copy-editing mistake.” They did not specify how many voters were sent the inaccurate text.
Clymer described AllVote as “funded by progressive donors aiming to increase voting participation” but declined to provide further details about the group’s backers. There is little public information on AllVote, and its website lists no founder or staffers. However, its website does state its mission, which is to help “eliminate the uncertainty for voters by sending them direct information.”. It’s also reported that these texts were sent to Arizona and North Carolina voters.
While a follow-up text was sent to voters who received the original message, those who replied “STOP” to the initial message or marked the sender as spam may not have received the follow-up.
Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley said, “Voters should be careful and not believe everything they read on Facebook, receive in the mail, or via text. As we get close to Election Day, make sure you are checking a trusted source for your election information. Voters can check their registration, mail ballot status, or polling place from our website Vote.Phila.gov, or by calling 215-686-VOTE.” The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office also has helpful tips about voting scams.
