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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 4 november 2020
FBI investigates robocalls warning voters to ‘stay home’

By DAVID KLEPPER and to "keep calm, vote on."
JOHN FLESHER Officials warned of a sep-
Associated Press arate spate of robocalls
TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan made Tuesday to voters in
(AP) — Voters across the Flint, Michigan, suggesting
U.S. received anonymous falsely that they could wait
robocalls in the days and until Wednesday to vote
weeks before Election Day in person because of long
urging them to "stay safe lines at polling places on
and stay home" — an omi- Tuesday. In fact, Tuesday is
nous warning that election the last day to vote.
experts said could be an "Obviously this is FALSE
effort to scare voters into and an effort to suppress
sitting out the election. the vote," Michigan Attor-
The FBI is investigating calls ney General Dana Nes-
that seek to discourage sel tweeted. "No long lines
people from voting, a se- and today is the last day to
nior official at the Depart- vote. Don't believe the lies!
ment of Homeland Security Have your voice heard!"
told reporters Tuesday. Au- Michigan is a critical swing
thorities wouldn't offer de- state that President Don-
tails. The brief calls, which ald Trump and former Vice
featured a computerized President Joe Biden have
female voice, made no In this Aug. 11, 2019, file photo, a man uses a cell phone in New Orleans. both targeted in the cam-
mention of the election. Associated Press paign's final days. Flint is a
But given the lack of de- heavily Democratic city
tails, and the timing, the ed Tuesday in The Washing- the robocalls used sophis- cause mischief, you want and the majority of its resi-
message was clear, ac- ton Post. ticated tactics, routing the to do it to everybody." dents are Black.
cording to Dan Doughty, YouMail found that the calls in a way that masked In a statement, the FBI said Nessel filed charges Oct. 1
a Kansas City resident who calls began over the sum- their identity and location, "We are aware of reports against two political oper-
received the robocall Tues- mer but increased dramati- Quilici said. And unlike of robocalls and have no atives accused of orches-
day morning."It felt like vot- cally in recent weeks. In most robocalls, the mes- further comment. As a re- trating a series of robocalls
er suppression," Doughty October alone there were sage didn't ask for personal minder, the FBI encourag- "aimed at suppressing the
told The Associated Press. 10 million calls, according information or urge respon- es the American public to vote" in the general elec-
"It was even so vague that to Alex Quilici, YouMail's dents to take any particular verify any election and vot- tion. The calls went to near-
whoever did it could say it chief executive. On Tues- action — suggesting con- ing information they may ly 12,000 Detroit-area resi-
was about COVID." day, they were reported in fusion and fear may have receive through their local dents, she said.
The automated calls were states including Iowa, Kan- been the goal. election officials." Those calls falsely claimed
placed to residents in near- sas, Florida, Nebraska and Those could all be clues as The Homeland Security offi- that voting by mail would
ly 90 percent of U.S. area Missouri. to who is behind the effort, cial, who spoke on the con- allow personal information
codes, according to an "This is just a test call.," the he said. dition that they not be fur- to become part of a da-
analysis by YouMail, a tech voice says in one version of "It's not a 12-year-old with ther identified, cautioned tabase used by police and
company that makes anti- the robocall. "Time to stay a computer. This feels like that "robocalls of this na- creditors to trace people
robocall software. You- home. Stay safe and stay maybe it's state sponsored," ture happen every elec- for mandatory vaccines,
Mail's findings were report- home." Whoever created Quilici said. "If you want to tion" and advised people Nessel said.q

Tradition: 2 New Hampshire towns cast votes after midnight

By The Associated Press voting, Tom Tillotson, town road workers who had to
DIXVILLE NOTCH, N.H. (AP) moderator in Dixville Notch, be at work before normal
— Two tiny New Hamp- said last week. But that's no voting hours.
shire communities that vote longer possible because of It eventually stopped in
for president just after the the coronavirus pandemic. 1964 and brought it back in
stroke of midnight on Elec- It's also hard to observe the 1996.
tion Day have cast their 60th anniversary of the tra- The communities also vote
ballots, with one of them dition, which started in No- just after midnight for New
marking 60 years since the vember 1960. Hampshire's first-in-the-
tradition began. "Sixty years — and unfortu- nation presidential prima-
The results in Dixville Notch, nately, we can't celebrate ry, which was on Feb. 11.
near the Canadian border, it," he said. That almost didn't happen
were a sweep for former A third community with this year in Dixville Notch,
Vice President Joe Biden midnight voting, Hart's Lo- when one person moved
who won the town's five cation, suspended the tra- away, leaving the remain-
votes. In Millsfield, 12 miles dition this election because ing four residents one short A man tallies the votes from the five ballots cast just after
(20 kilometers) to the south, of coronavirus concerns. of the minimum needed to midnight, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Dixville Notch, N.H.
President Donald Trump It decided to hold voting handle various election re- Associated Press
won 16 votes to Biden's five. from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tues- sponsibilities. That was fixed began, moved in. closed in 2011. Some of
Normally, there would be a day. when a developer work- For years, voting was held those items were brought
big food spread and a lot The White Mountains town ing on renovations of the in a wood-paneled room over to a former culinary
of media crammed into a started the early voting in now-closed Balsams resort, filled with political memora- school on the property, the
small space to watch the 1948 to accommodate rail- where the voting tradition bilia at the Balsams, which setting for Tuesday's vote.q