Somebody apparently is trying to keep some Missourians from voting, using misinformation and fear. The Secretary of State’s office and an advocacy group for the mentally ill says the calls seem to be targeting Missourians who might vote for Barack Obama.
The Secretary of State says some Missourians have been getting robo calls that try to make them think they can vote tomorrow because of the high turnout today. They can’t. Today is the only day to vote in this election. The election is NOT being extended.
The Missouri chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness says it has a report that an Eldon woman got a robo call telling her she would lose her Medicaid benefits if she votes for Barack Obama today. That also is a lie. NAMI-Missouri Executive Director Cindi Keele says the woman was "very upset" by the call. Keele says, "She was very worried and scared." Keele worries someone has been able to get a list of telephone numbers of Medicaid receipients.
Egerdal says anyone with information or anyone who has received one of these calls should call the Secretary of State’s hotline, 800-669-8683 (800-NOW-VOTE).
She says the information has been given to the federal prosecutor. Egerdall says these calls are a felony that could put the originators in prison for spreading misinformation to discourage voters from going to the polls.