Related
(WWJ) A disturbing hoax robo call has been going out to homes in Detroit threatening dire consequences from voting by mail in the November election.
Detroiter Derrick Thomas, and others, got this message on his voice mail:
"Did you know that if you vote by mail your information will be part of a public database that will shared with police departments to track down old warrants and credit card companies to track down old debts ... Don't give your private information to The Man."
This call does indeed sound like an attempt at voter suppression and intimidation through misinformation, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson's office told WWJ's Sandra McNeill.
Jocelyn Benson's office responded with this: Voting by mail — or any other method of casting your absentee ballot in Michigan — does not expose your personal information any more than simply registering to vote does."
State officials say they will investigate this further and we will refer it to the appropriate authority.
“This is an unconscionable, indefensible, blatant attempt to lie to citizens about their right to vote,” added Benson. “The call preys on voters’ fear and mistrust of the criminal justice system – at a moment of historic reckoning and confrontation of systemic racism and the generational trauma that results – and twists it into a fabricated threat in order to discourage people from voting. The Attorney General and I will use every tool at our disposal to dispel this false rhetoric and seek justice on behalf of every voter who was targeted and harmed by this vicious attempt at voter suppression.
Pollster Steve Mitchell of Mitchell Research says the call is "disgusting."
But who's responsible for it and how widespread are the calls? No one yet knows.
But do know this: Voting by mail is as secure as every other method of casting a ballot. It's been carried out safely since the Civil War when mail ballots were delivered for soldiers who couldn't make it to the polls.
Even before the pandemic, mail-in voting was on the rise. NPR reported about a quarter of all voters voted by mail in the 2018 midterms, more than double the rate of mail voting from 20 years ago.
Despite opposition from some quarters, generally connected to Republican opposition to more widespread voting, a recent Pew Research Center poll found that more than 70% of Americans think any voter should be able to vote by mail.