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Freedom251 › Blog › Digital Safety

What to Do if You Receive a Threatening or False Message About Voting

By Freedom251 Team · · 8 min read

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If a message says someone will be hurt, threatens a polling place, or creates an immediate safety risk, call 911 or your local police department now. Do not wait to verify the message or forward it publicly. If there is no immediate danger, preserve the original message, verify voting details with your state or local election office, and report the communication through the channel that matches what it contains.

This guide applies in the United States. Election procedures and contacts vary by state and locality, so use your election office for the authoritative time, place, and method of voting. Threats, intimidation, suspected election crimes, and misinformation may require different reports.

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First, decide whether anyone is in immediate danger

Read enough to identify the basic risk, but do not engage with the sender. A credible threat of violence, a threat against a polling place, or a message indicating that violence is happening now is an emergency. Call 911 or local police and follow the operator’s instructions. The Department of Justice advises contacting local law enforcement before making a report to the department about violence, threats, or intimidation at a polling place (Voter Intimidation Under Federal Law; Election Threats).

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If you are at a polling place, move to a safe location if you can do so without putting yourself or others at greater risk. Do not confront a threatening person, investigate a suspicious package, or attempt to detain anyone. Tell the dispatcher what you know, where the threat applies, and whether anyone is injured.

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A message can be alarming without presenting an immediate danger. In that case, do not call emergency services solely because the message is offensive, politically extreme, or apparently fake. Preserve it, verify any voting instructions independently, and make the appropriate non-emergency reports.

Use this decision guide

What the message involves What to do first Where to report after immediate safety is addressed
Immediate threat of violence or violence at a polling place Call 911 or local police. Follow law-enforcement instructions; the DOJ also provides election-threat information.
Threat or intimidation, but no immediate danger Save the original communication and avoid responding. State or local election office; DOJ Civil Rights Division for a possible voting-rights violation; local FBI office or U.S. Attorney’s Office for a suspected election crime.
Threat aimed at an election worker Use emergency services if danger is imminent; otherwise preserve the message. FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov, and notify the relevant election authority.
Possibly false information about when, where, or how to vote Do not rely on the message. Check your state or local election office. Report suspected misinformation to the election office; the U.S. Election Assistance Commission also lists [email protected] for misinformation or disinformation reports.

The same communication can fit more than one row. For example, a false message that directs people to a fake polling site and threatens anyone who goes to the real site should be treated as both a safety matter and a possible voting-rights violation.

Preserve the message before deleting or reporting it

Keep the original communication in the account or device where you received it. Do not edit the text, crop away identifying details, or rely only on a forwarded copy. The FBI may need the original context when assessing suspected election criminal activity, including activity involving artificial intelligence (DOJ Election Threats guidance).

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Save the source and surrounding context

  • For email, keep the original message and, if your service allows it, download the original file with its header information. Record the sender address, display name, subject, date, and time.
  • For text or messaging apps, preserve the complete conversation, the sender’s account or phone number, timestamps, and any attached files.
  • For social media, capture the post, profile name, profile URL, visible date and time, replies that add context, and any direct-message thread.
  • For voicemail, save the audio file and note the phone number, date, time, and the exact words you remember.
  • For video, save the original file or post URL when possible. Take screenshots showing the account and date as well as the frame containing the threat or voting instruction.

Make a short evidence log

Write down when you received the message, how you received it, what you believe it says, and who else may have seen it. Note whether you clicked a link, replied, called a number, or shared it. Keep your notes factual; separate what you directly observed from what you suspect.

Store a copy in a location you can access if the account is suspended or the post disappears. Do not publish the evidence merely to make it visible. Public reposting can spread a false instruction, expose a victim’s personal information, or alert a threatening sender that law enforcement has been contacted.

Verify voting information through an official election office

False voting messages often claim that an election date changed, a polling place moved, a registration record was cancelled, a voting method is unavailable, or a particular group must vote at a different time. Do not use a phone number, QR code, or website supplied by the suspicious message to verify those claims.

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  1. Find your state or local election office through an official government election website or the contact information provided by your jurisdiction.
  2. Ask the office to confirm the specific election, registration status, polling location, hours, identification rules, and available voting methods that apply to you.
  3. Use the office’s instructions rather than a message forwarded by another person. If the office says a location or procedure changed, ask when the change took effect and where it is published.
  4. Tell the office that you received a potentially false or intimidating communication and provide the preserved evidence through the submission method it specifies.

USA.gov’s Voter fraud, voter suppression, and other election crimes page, updated February 25, 2026, directs voters to appropriate election and law-enforcement resources. Because local procedures differ, it is safer to obtain the contact route for your own jurisdiction than to rely on a national number for a question about your polling place.

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Report the communication to the right authority

State or local election office

Use the election office for incorrect or deceptive instructions about the time, place, or manner of voting, and for reports involving access to the ballot. The office can confirm the correct procedure and route the complaint to state officials or investigators. The EAC’s Other National Contact Information page, dated December 23, 2025, lists national contacts and points voters toward election-related reporting resources; it does not replace your jurisdiction’s election office.

Department of Justice Civil Rights Division

If you believe the communication intimidates, threatens, coerces, or otherwise interferes with someone’s voting rights, submit a possible voting-rights violation through the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Voting resources. Include the original message, the sender information, dates and times, the people or group targeted, and any effect on voting. Keep the evidence in your possession unless the agency gives you a secure way to transfer it.

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FBI or a U.S. Attorney’s Office

For suspected election crimes, USA.gov advises contacting a local FBI office or a U.S. Attorney’s Office as appropriate. A threat, coordinated deception, or conduct intended to prevent people from voting may warrant this route in addition to an election-office report. If the target is an election worker, the FBI accepts reports at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov. Use 911 instead when anyone faces imminent danger.

Misinformation or disinformation reports

The EAC lists [email protected] as a contact for misinformation or disinformation reports. Sending a report there does not replace verifying your own voting instructions with your election office, and it does not turn every inaccurate statement into a federal crime. Provide the original content and explain the concrete voting instruction that appears false.

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What federal law does—and does not—cover

Federal law prohibits intimidation, threats, and coercion during the voting process. DOJ guidance also addresses knowingly false information intended to stop people from properly casting a ballot. Its voter-intimidation guide states: “In addition, it is illegal to send out knowingly false information about the time, place, or manner of voting to prevent people from properly casting their ballots.” Read the full guide at Voter Intimidation Under Federal Law.

That rule has important limits. An inaccurate statement is not automatically a crime simply because it is wrong. The DOJ description includes both knowledge that the information is false and an intent to prevent people from properly voting. Avoid declaring that a sender committed a crime; report the facts and let the appropriate authorities determine whether the legal elements are present.

Do not assume an AI-generated appearance proves anything

Text, images, audio, or video can be generated or altered with AI, but an AI-like style does not by itself establish that a message is false or criminal. DOJ explains that generative AI is not inherently criminal and is generally protected expression, while also warning that it can facilitate criminal threats, fraud, or interference with the right to vote (Election Threats).

Preserve the content and report the conduct that concerns you: the threat, impersonation, fraudulent instruction, or attempt to block voting. Do not alter the file to add labels, run it through an online detector that uploads private material, or claim certainty about how it was produced unless an authoritative investigation establishes that fact.

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Protect yourself while you document and report

  • Do not reply to a threatening sender or disclose your address, workplace, polling location, identification number, or travel plans.
  • Do not click links or open attachments from a suspicious message. If you already clicked, change the affected account password from a trusted device and enable multifactor authentication where available.
  • Block or mute the sender only after saving the evidence and noting the account details. Blocking can reduce harassment but may remove your ability to view the original context.
  • Tell a trusted person if you feel unsafe, especially if the message includes your personal information or a specific location.
  • If the communication targets an election worker or volunteer, follow the organization’s security and reporting procedures as well as the FBI or emergency-services route when appropriate.

If you followed the false instruction already

Contact your election office immediately and explain exactly what you did and when. Ask whether you can correct the situation, vote by another method, update a registration record, or obtain assistance at the proper polling place. Do not attempt to cast an additional ballot or alter records based on advice from the message or from social media. The election office can tell you what remedies are available under your state’s rules.

Preserve any receipt, confirmation screen, envelope, appointment information, or other record connected with the action. Include those details in your report so officials can distinguish a mistaken instruction from an attempted interference campaign.

A reporting checklist

  • Immediate danger assessed; 911 or local police contacted if necessary.
  • Original message, attachments, links, account details, and timestamps preserved.
  • Screenshots, audio, or video saved without editing the originals.
  • Voting details verified through the state or local election office.
  • Threats or intimidation reported to the election office and, when appropriate, DOJ Civil Rights Division.
  • Suspected election crime reported to a local FBI office or U.S. Attorney’s Office; threats to election workers reported to 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.
  • Misinformation report sent through the election office and, if useful, [email protected].
  • Personal information protected and no public reposting that could amplify the message.

Keep the focus on safety and verified access to the ballot

The safest response is procedural: protect people first, preserve the evidence, confirm voting details with the election authority that controls them, and report the communication to the agency equipped to handle its type. A calm, complete record is more useful to investigators than a public argument about whether the message looks real.

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Digital Safetyelection misinformationelection threatsvoter intimidationvoting rightsvoting safety

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