Contra Costa County elections officials warn of a potential texting scam where constituents across California are getting messages asking them to check their registration and providing links. (Brittany Hosea-Small/KQED)
Text messages that appear to be from a conservative political organization are circulating in some California counties asking people to check their voter registration, prompting warnings of a potential scam from Contra Costa County elections officials — and firm pushback from the political group.
Although the messages seem to contain a link to the California Secretary of State’s website and don’t appear to be threatening, officials warned that residents should not click links or respond to texts regarding their voter status.
“We don’t have any reason to believe that the link itself is dangerous, but since county elections offices and the [secretary of state] are the only parties able to access real-time voter data, we urged our voters to exercise caution and reach out to one of those two official sources if they believe that they are a registered voter and want to confirm,” Erin Clausen, a spokesperson for the San Luis Obispo County clerk-recorder, told KQED.
Instead of responding to potential spam, here’s how to safely check your voter registration and what you should know to avoid getting duped.
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What to watch for around potential text scams
The texts appear to be from Fix California, a San Diego-based conservative political organization, according to representatives of multiple counties.
An example of the potential texting scam flagged by Contra Costa County elections officials. (Courtesy San Luis Obispo Clerk-Recorder’s Office)
The message said that the recipient’s “voter registration appears inactive” and that they can click on an embedded link to the secretary of state’s website to register.
“Time is running out to register to vote. It takes less than two minutes. You can now register online at the California Secretary of State’s website,” part of the message reads.
Donna Johnston, Sutter County’s clerk-recorder, said that the messages appear to be coming from Fix California, an organization led by former Trump administration Cabinet member Ric Grenell that is “committed to pursuing long-term solutions that advance conservative ideas and causes throughout the state,” according to its website.
Nick Meade, the executive director of Fix California, said that the organization aims to “identify and assist Californians who are eligible but not yet registered to vote.”
“Fix California adheres to stringent standards, ensuring full compliance with all pertinent state laws governing voter registration; recent claims falsely labeling our organization as a scam are wholly unfounded and distort our true mission,” he said via email. “More, Fix California advises anyone with concerns about their voter registration to verify their status directly via the California Secretary of State’s official website.”
It’s unclear how the group is gathering voter information, but multiple county clerk recorder’s offices said that many of the people who reported getting the messages were registered to vote.
The California Secretary of State also has a site — voterstatus.sos.ca.gov — where any California voter can check their registration, get information about upcoming elections and polling places and find out how to contact their local elections office.
Scams targeting voters are more common during election years, but it is not common practice for elections offices to contact people via text message, Contra Costa County deputy clerk-recorder Tommy Gong told KQED. He said it is always best for people to rely on their local registrar’s office as their first source of information for voting-related questions.
KQED’s Spencer Whitney contributed to this report. On Aug. 13, it was updated with comment from the executive director of Fix California.
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