Intellectual Property Law

The residents of Broward County, Florida have recently received misleading robocalls telling them that they can vote by phone on Election Day, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Friday.

The report didn't provide many details, other than the fact that the voice fallaciously identified itself as Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes.

When asked whether she had heard about the calls, the supervisor's public service director said that she hadn't, and that of course voting by phone is not an option.

The call is just one of a number of dirty tricks being pulled off around the country just before record numbers of voters are expected to turn up at the polls on Election Day.

Another unknown group is distributing flyers (see the flyer after the jump) with official-looking letterhead around the area of Hampton Roads, Virgina that erroneously inform  recipients that because of the crowds at the polls, the Virginia State Board of Elections is scheduling Republicans to vote on November 4th, and Democrats on the 5th.

Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York, John Conyers of Michigan and Bobby Scott of Virginia on Thursday asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation into the matter and to bring criminal charges against the originators of the flyers.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that people in the area have been receiving robocalls with the same message. This particular trick is an old one: In 2004, the New York Times reported the same message going out in the Pittsburgh area via flyers.