Text messages circulating Wednesday telling people that they have not signed up to receive absentee ballots are not from the Cobb County Elections, county officials said in a news release.
It is unclear from whom the messages are originating, or why they are being sent. But the issue seems to be more widespread than just Cobb County. Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporters registered to vote in Fulton and DeKalb counties have also received the text.
“We have you in our records as not signed up to receive a ballot in the mail,” the message says.
Credit: Taylor Croft
Credit: Taylor Croft
The message also includes a legitimate link leading to the absentee ballot request page on the Georgia Secretary of State’s website. The phone number from which the texts were sent appears to be from Cobb County Elections, but is a spoof number, the news release says.
Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said the secretary of state’s office doesn’t send out unsolicited text messages, and neither do local elections departments.
“Voters are rightly suspicious of anonymous texts from secretive, unofficial sources, and should double check their My Voter Page to make sure their registration information is correct and up to date,” he said in a statement.
Cobb County Elections does not send out unsolicited voting information via text. To confirm voter registration information, go to the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.
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