- April 24, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
UPDATE: 11 a.m. Oct. 22:
Iran is the source of threatening emails sent to Democrats in Florida and a handful of other states on Oct. 21, according to the U.S. government. The Iranian government has denied the accusation.
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in an Oct. 21 press conference that both Iran and Russia have obtained some voter data.
"We have already seen Iran sending spoofed emails designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump," he said.
Ratcliffe did not specify whether the data obtained by Iran and Russia was publicly available information, or obtained illegally.
Democrats have contested Ratcliffe's claim that the emails — which came from an email address that appeared to be associated with the right-wing Proud Boys group and told Democrats to vote for Trump, "or else" — were intended to damage Trump.
"These election interference operations are clearly not meant to harm President Trump," stated a tweet by the House Homeland Security Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi.
Ratcliffe called the emails — and a video traced to Iran that falsely implies that people can cast fraudulent ballots — "desperate attempts by desperate adversaries."
"Know that our election systems are resilient and you can be confident your votes are secure," Ratcliffe said.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Local Democrats received threatening emails Oct. 20 purporting to be from the rightwing extremist Proud Boys organization and telling the recipients to change their registration to Republican and vote for Trump, "or else."
"Please do not let this type of behavior discourage you from voting for your candidate of choice. This is such an important election, and unfortunately these scammers are using public information to attack voter confidence in the voting process."
— KAITI LENHART, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections
But, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Kaiti Lenhart noted in a news release, "Ironically, the email was sent to voters who have already voted early or by mail."
The emails — arriving with the subject line, "Vote for Trump or else!" — have also been reported in Alaska, Arizona and Pennsylvania and come from the address "info @officialproudboys.com," but a Florida spokesman for the Proud Boys denied involvement in an interview with the Washington Post.
The email states, according to the news release:
"[VOTER NAME] We are in possession of all your information You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you. [ADDRESS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS]- good luck ;)"
The Flagler County Supervisor of Elections Office has asked residents to forward the emails to the Supervisor of Elections Office's general information email address at [email protected].
Voter intimidation is illegal under state and federal law, and the Supervisor of Elections Office is collecting the information to report it to the Florida Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, according to the news release.
“I want to assure our county voters that we are taking every step necessary to ensure your vote counts in this election," Lenhart said, according to the news release.
Lenhart noted that some voter information — including name, address, party affiliation and sample ballot email address — are public record, and appeared to have been used by the emails' sender to personalize the emails.
The emails in Florida were only sent to registered Democrats, Lenhart noted.
"We maintain your secret ballot as required by the U.S. Constitution," she said. "No one knows how you vote. Ironically, the email was sent to voters who have already voted early or by mail. Please do not let this type of behavior discourage you from voting for your candidate of choice. This is such an important election, and unfortunately these scammers are using public information to attack voter confidence in the voting process. I also hope this incident will be enough to convince the Florida Legislature that voter information should be exempt from public records.”
