INDIANAPOLIS — WRTV has received several viewer emails this Election Day regarding text messages being sent to people's phones attempting to sway them into voting for a particular party.
Some of those text messages say that voting records are public and that family and friends will know who you voted for.
One in particular said:
Voting records are public — your friends, neighbors, and family will know if you stood with Trump when it mattered most.
Hi [insert name], this is Sydney with the Indiana GOP. Tomorrow is Election Day — your 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 to make a difference. Whether or not you vote is public, and your community will see if you stood with Trump or stayed home. Don’t let your country down when our 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞.
Make a plan to vote 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 and send a strong message by voting straight-ticket Republican to keep Indiana safe from the radical left and support Trump’s vision for America. Every vote counts in securing strong, conservative leadership. Find your polling location here: https://indianavoters.in.gov/
Reply STOP to Stop
Who you vote for is not public information so don't be alarmed if you receive those types of messages.
"Your vote is private. No one can see it, and no one should see it because that's that's the basis of democracy," Indianapolis resident Monica Strigari said. "The basis of democracy is that we get to vote how we want to, and no one can tell us that what we vote is wrong because no one's gonna see it."
The messages have upset some residents.
"The ones that really upset me were sent to people that I knew in Hamilton County telling them that their voting record was public information that could be found, basically warning them not to vote against one of the people running for president," said Strigari. "Voter intimidation is not okay. I don't care what party affiliation you are, everybody should get to vote, and no one should be scared to."
Strigari urges Hoosiers to not be intimidated by them.
"Voter intimidation is a federal crime. It's also against Indiana voter law. Please be educated, and look up the information. Quite honestly, I don't care what side of the bench you're on. This is a nonpartisan message. Do not be intimidated from voting and know your rights," she said.
There have also been text messages urging for donations for Kamala Harris.
IU professor for Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research, Scott Shackleford, said these types of scams are extremely common.
"All political campaigns, but also lots of supporters, are trying to influence voters. We know it's going to be a tight election if the polls are accurate. So as a result, there are a lot of groups pulling at all the stops to try to influence opinion one way or the other," he said.
Shackleford said if you do receive a suspicious text message, there are options you can take.
"One, you can mark it as a scam. You can do that by forwarding the text that you get to 7726. You can also report it to the Federal Trade Commission. That's the closest thing we have to a comprehensive cybersecurity and privacy regulator in the U.S.," he said.
WRTV has reached out to the Indiana GOP and Braun's camp regarding these text messages but has not heard back.
