Misleading flyer sparks voter misinformation concerns in Prince William County
MANASSAS, Va. - Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 7 and the Prince William County Office of Elections is trying to stop false information about voting from spreading.
Eric Olsen, the director of elections in Prince William County, says voters have called and e-mailed the office with concerns and complaints about a flyer circulating throughout their neighborhoods with misleading and intimidating information.
The flyer is from Virginia Voter Assistance, which is a project of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization Look Ahead America, and states, "that failure to vote may result in a loss of social security income, Medicare eligibility, unemployment benefits, child tax credits and child custody rights, and concealed carry permit."
On the back, it reminds people about the option of an absentee ballot.
Manassas City resident Gretchen Almstead says she got a notice on her door.
"The language on here, I mean this is really scary," Gretchen said. "I think it’s plain creepy."
The Prince William County Office of Elections is warning residents on the social media site X that: "This is false information."
Almstead is confused as to why she was targeted because the flyer says, "According to government records, one or more residents at this address has failed to vote in recent elections," but Almstead told FOX 5 she's "never" missed an election.
FOX 5’s Sierra Fox called Matt Braynard, the executive director of Look Ahead America who explained, "We wanted to make sure people understand there’s a very real cost of choosing not to vote. That maybe the rights and benefits they count on cannot be counted on unless they make their voices heard at the ballot box. If they don’t vote, they’re going to get ignored."
Olsen responded in a letter saying in part: "The message conveyed by this organization could have been accomplished without confusing or upsetting voters, but they specifically chose not to do that. How do we know this? They told us themselves when their executive director stated, "We don’t really care about blowback."
In a rebuttal, Braynard is addressing what he is calling five false claims from government officials and other media outlets about the purpose of his flyer.
"This isn’t a scare tactic, this is a truth tactic," he said. "Elected officials are afraid to tell you the truth – the cost of not voting – because they’re afraid you’ll get angry at them. We’re not concerned about that because we’re not on the ballot."
The Prince William County Office of Elections wants to make it clear to residents that while they do encourage people to vote, your assets will not be seized if you don't.
Attorney General Jason Miyares' Office sent a cease and desist letter to Virginia Voter Assistance Tuesday, asking them to immediately stop distributing the flyers.
"My family immigrated to the U.S. from Communist Cuba, a nation where there were not free and fair elections to choose its leaders. So, this issue is very important to me. Misinformation in our elections will not be tolerated in Virginia," Miyares said in a statement. "The ability to participate in a free and fair election is an incredible right that is a cornerstone of American democracy. One of my strongest beliefs is the simple concept that it should be easy to vote, but hard to cheat. My office is committed to fighting false election information, protecting voting rights, and cracking down on voter intimidation."
Read the full letter below: