(NewsNation) — Ahead of the New Hampshire primary, voters in the state have reported getting recorded messages encouraging them not to vote Tuesday.
The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said it’s gotten complaints about the calls, which appear artificially generated to sound like the voice of President Joe Biden.
The robocalls tell voters, “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday” and the number is spoofed to show it was sent from the treasurer of a political committee supporting write-in efforts for Biden.
The attorney general’s office said the messages appear to be an attempt to disrupt the primary election and suppress the vote, which is against the law.
Voters should ignore the messages and the office reminds people that voting in Tuesday’s primary will not prevent a voter from voting in the general election in November.
The state’s election law unit is investigating the source of the messages and anyone who has received one is encouraged to send an e-mail to electionlaw@doj.nh.gov with the date and time of the messages, the origin of the call or message, the contents and any other information they have.
This comes as Biden’s name will not appear on the ballot in the upcoming New Hampshire primary because of a disagreement between the state and the Democratic National Committee. The DNC voted to move New Hampshire out of its “first-in-the-nation” position.
As a result, voters will have to write in Biden’s name on the ballot.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the deepfake in a briefing on Monday. The Biden campaign also put out a statement, saying, “This matter has already been referred to the New Hampshire attorney general, and 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.”
It’s still unclear who was behind these calls. But they aren’t the first of their kind.
Open AI, an artificial intelligence research organization tool, has also banned the developer behind bots impersonating another presidential candidate, Dean Phillips. That website has been since removed.
