New Hampshire‘s Office of the Attorney General announced on Monday an investigation into complaints about a robocall featuring the fake voice of President Joe Biden urging Democrats not to vote in the primary on Tuesday.
“The message, sent on January 21, 2024, stated ‘your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.’ Although the voice in the robocall sounds like the voice of President Biden, this message appears to be artificially generated based on initial indications,” the office said in a statement.
“The message appears to have been ‘spoofed’ to falsely show that it had been sent by the treasurer of a political committee that has been supporting the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary write-in efforts for President Biden,” the office added. “The message’s content directed recipients who wished to be removed from a calling list to call the number belonging to this person.”
NBC reports that NH voters are getting robocalls with a deepfake of Biden’s voice telling them to not vote tomorrow.
“it’s important that you save your vote for the November election.”https://t.co/LAOKRtDanK pic.twitter.com/wzm0PcaN6H
— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) January 22, 2024
New Hampshire opted to defy the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by holding its first-in-the-nation primary for Democrats on January 23 after the national party decided to shake up its primary schedule by selecting South Carolina to go first on its calendar. The GOP is also having its presidential primary take place on Tuesday.
Biden’s name is not appearing on the New Hampshire primary ballot after his campaign chose not to file for it in compliance with the DNC’s rules, but there has been a write-in effort seeking to have the incumbent win the contest over long-shot rivals, including Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) and self-help author Marianne Williamson.
Biden’s campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez, said on Monday the robocall matter had been “referred” to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella, and she noted the campaign was “actively discussing” other actions.
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“Spreading disinformation to suppress voting and deliberately undermine free and fair elections will not stand, and fighting back against any attempt to undermine our democracy will continue to be a top priority for this campaign,” Chávez Rodríguez added.
The robocall messages, audio of which was published by NBC News, “appear to be an unlawful attempt to disrupt the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election and to suppress New Hampshire voters. New Hampshire voters should disregard the content of this message entirely,” New Hampshire’s Office of the Attorney General said.
“Voting in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary Election does not preclude a voter from additionally voting in the November General Election. Recipients of this message are additionally encouraged to send an e-mail to the Department of Justice Election Law Unit ([email protected]) identifying (1) the date and time they received the call or message; (2) the origin of the call or message; (3) the content of the call or message; and (4) any other relevant information,” the office continued. “The Election Law Unit’s investigation is ongoing.”
