(LifeSiteNews) – A “progressive” voter outreach nonprofit had to apologize for texts messages falsely telling Pennsylvania residents they have already voted, just days before voting in one of the swing states that could decide the next President of the United States.
AllVote describes its mission as “to mobilize progressive voters and create lasting change from the ground up,” by “mak(ing) sure that every eligible citizen has the knowledge and tools they need to exercise their right to vote.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that over the weekend “thousands” of residents received text messages from the group reading, “Records show you voted,” with a link to official state voting resources.
Pressed on the texts, AllVote claimed to be “mortified” by the “mistake,” explaining that the texts were meant to motivate people who had voted in the previous midterm elections, and erroneously omitted “in 2022” from the script.
As for AllVote’s background, The Inquirer added that a “political action committee with that name was registered this year. Yet little public information is available about AllVote, and its website lists no founder or staffers.” In August, Montgomery County officials accused AllVote of a scam to “capture personal, sensitive information from voters in an attempt to exploit them later on” via false notices of not being registered to vote.
“Election officials in Arizona and North Carolina raised concerns about text campaigns from an organization with the same name in recent months,” the paper added.
“Voters should be careful and not believe everything they read on Facebook, receive in the mail, or via text,” Philadelphia City Commissioner Lisa Deeley said. “As we get close to Election Day, make sure you are checking a trusted source for your election information. Voters can check their registration, mail ballot status, or find their polling place all from our website Vote.Phila.gov or by calling 215-686-VOTE.”
The incident has provoked claims of left-wing double-standards about the distribution of false information that could be construed as “voter suppression.” Last year, the Biden Justice Department prosecuted pro-Trump social media influencer Douglass Mackey for “conspiracy to interfere with potential voters’ right to vote in the 2016 election for the Office of the President of the United States,” over what he maintained were comedic social media posts telling people they could vote for Hillary Clinton via text. He was ultimately sentenced to seven months in prison.
Voting is currently underway in the 2024 presidential election and legislative races across the country, where national polls between Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump are extremely close.
Pennsylvania holds 19 electoral votes (down one from previous elections due to redistricting) and is believed by many to be a crucial swing state that could be enough to decide the election’s outcome. The RealClearPolitics and RaceToTheWH polling averages have a statistical dead heat in the Keystone State. Trump won Pennsylvania in 2016; outgoing Democrat President Joe Biden claimed it in 2020.