Probe into fake Biden robocall which told voters to skip New Hampshire primary election

Calls suspected to be AI generated told Democrat voters to sit out primary vote
Josh Salisbury24 January 2024

A fake robocall mimicking US president Joe Biden’s voice and urging voters not to go to the polls during Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire is under investigation.

The recorded message was sent to multiple voters on Sunday and appeared to be an attempt at voter suppression, said state attorney general, John Formella.

It is unclear who the culprit is, but the Trump campaign has denied involvement. The message, which appears to use artificial intelligence, uses a voice similar to Biden's and employs his often-used phrase, "What a bunch of malarkey." 

It then tells the listener to "save your vote for the November election."

"Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again," the call said. "Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday."

Anti-robocall application Nomorobo estimates the calls were placed between 5,000 and 25,000 times, reports CNN. Mr Biden is not campaigning in New Hampshire and his name will not appear on Tuesday's primary ballot. 

This is because Mr Biden approved a new voting calendar that stripped New Hampshire of its status as the first state to hold a primary, with South Carolina instead taking that position.

However, his allies are running a write-in campaign for him in New Hampshire.

The robocalls falsely appeared to be coming from the personal mobile phone number of a former state Democratic chairwoman, Kathy Sullivan, who helps run a pro-Biden political group in the state.

Ms Sullivan said she informed police over the calls.

“This call links back to my personal cell phone number without my permission," she said in a statement. 

“It is outright election interference, and clearly an attempt to harass me and other New Hampshire voters who are planning to write-in Joe Biden on Tuesday."

The attorney general's office encouraged anyone who has received the call to email the state Justice Department's election law unit.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Monday that the call "was indeed fake and not recorded by the president." Biden's campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said in a statement that the campaign is "actively discussing additional actions to take immediately."

"Spreading disinformation to suppress voting and deliberately undermine free and fair elections will not stand, and fighting back against any attempt to undermine our democracy will continue to be a top priority for this campaign," she said.

The Trump campaign said it had nothing to do with the recording but did not comment further.

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