Voters warned of potential intimidation effort

Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor says official-sounding calls have been going out

Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Wendy Sartory Link warned Wednesday that mysterious, official-sounding calls going to some voters in advance of the March 12 municipal elections may be an attempt at voter intimidation.

Link said she’s referred the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.

A man’s voice on the automated robo-calls went to an unknown number of people Friday through Tuesday who had requested vote by mail ballots for the March 12 municipal elections.

Calls warning voters about criminal investigations and penalties is a tactic that’s been associated in the past with voter suppression. The idea is to scare people so they won’t participate in an election. Link in a statement issued by her office said that such calls serve “only to frighten and intimidate voters.”

Robin Rorapaugh, chief deputy supervisor of elections, said she didn’t know if the calls are concentrated in a particular area. She said she knows of one inquiry that came from a Riviera Beach voter who received one of the calls.

Riviera Beach is one of 16 Palm Beach County municipalities with elections on March 12. Others include Boynton Beach, Highland Beach, Lake Worth, Ocean Ridge and West Palm Beach.

Several recipients recorded the calls and reported them to the elections office, Link said.

Here’s a transcript:

“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

MIKE STOCKER/SUN SENTINEL FILE Gov. Ron DeSantis named Wendy Sartory Link as the new Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County in January.