Secretary of State Lawerence Denney Warns Idahoans to Beware of Voter Registration Phone Scam

Idaho State SealFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: October 2, 2018
Contact: Kristie Winslow, Communications Coordinator
Phone: (208) 332-2818

Boise, Idaho – The Idaho Secretary of State has been notified by the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) of a potential voter registration phone scam. Officials in two states have confirmed residents have received phone calls requesting personal information while claiming to register them to vote. These calls are currently being investigated by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security.

Idaho does not allow voter registration by phone. Neither election officials nor legitimate voter advocacy groups will ever offer to register voters or mail out absentee ballots solely based on a phone conversation. The Idaho Secretary of State would like to remind the public not to give out personal information over the phone.

“With the General Election rapidly approaching, I urge all eligible Idahoans to register and vote,” said Secretary Denney. “The Secretary of State’s online voter registration website, IdahoVotes.gov, is safe, secure, and easy to use.”

Anyone who has received one of these calls is encouraged to contact the Secretary of State’s elections division at (208) 334-2852 or their local county clerk.

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ABOUT LAWERENCE DENNEY

Lawerence Denney has served the people of Idaho since 1990. His public service began as a representative in District 13 and, following redistricting, then became a representative in District 9 until 2014. During this time, Denney served two terms as Majority Leader and three terms as Speaker of the House before successfully running for state office as Idaho’s Secretary of State. He is currently in the fourth year of his first term as Secretary of State.

System Upgrade In Progress

Campaign Finance, Lobbyist Reporting, and Online Voter Tools are expected to be offline from April 9th at 5:00 p.m. MDT, through April 12th at 8:00 a.m. MDT to complete a system upgrade.

Per Idaho Code 67-6607, campaign finance is reported monthly during a campaign’s election year. The deadline for the March report falls on Saturday, April 10th. Due to the interruption caused by this upgrade, political treasurers will be allowed to file the March report until 11:59 p.m. MDT on Monday, April 12th.

While we do our best to ensure compliance with all deadlines in statute, the timing of this release is critical to ensure minimal (or no) impact to the May election cycle. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.