As election season nears, the Bucks County Board of Elections Office urges voters to be aware of unsolicited, unnecessary and sometimes illegitimate election-related correspondence targeting voters that is sent by groups and individuals not associated with the County.
Using official-sounding language and personal details derived from a number of publicly available sources that are often outdated, these mailings can seem threatening and have caused needless confusion and worry.
One recent set of mailings has prompted several voters over the last few days to contact the county Board of Elections Office (BOE) with concerns.
The letters, sent by an individual using a Chalfont Post Office Box contain language warning of voter fraud and elder abuse, and direct recipients to notarize and submit an attached, pre-filled affidavit in order to petition to strike a name from voter rolls.
The letters have also come enclosed with religious literature and solicit donations of stamps.
As of Thursday, Bucks County BOE had received four notarized affidavits and multiple complaints from voters reacting to these letters. The affidavits purport to seek action pursuant to a PA law that has not been in effect for more than two decades, rendering the petitions, at best, unnecessary and unactionable.
“Maintenance of the voter rolls is a matter of state and federal law, and the Bucks County Board of Elections follows this process to the letter,” said Thomas Freitag, Director of the Board of Elections Office. “The Board of Elections will never contact voters soliciting donations or requiring you to notarize a document to remove another person from the voter rolls.”
The Bucks County Board of Elections office takes fraud very seriously. Any incidents of possible voter fraud are referred to the District Attorney’s Office.
Anyone in Bucks County who receives election correspondence and has questions about its legitimacy should not hesitate to contact the Bucks County Board of Elections at 215-348-6154.
For more information about voting in Bucks County, visit BucksCounty.gov/Elections.
Media Contact: James O’Malley, 215-348-6414, [email protected]