VoteTheWill.org (Informed Electorate) is apparently one of the URLs used by a certain PAC (Political Action Committee) to raise funds for whatever cause, through a robo-calling network.
While everyone who has ever come into contact with these people says the operation is a scam, it cannot really be called that in the sense that it apparently does not deceive people into handing over cash.
There is obviously a money-raising pitch involved, but it is more along the lines of begging for a donation, rather than promising something too-good-to-be-true for it in return.
Whatever the case, let us set it straight from the get-go that the wisdom of the masses has delivered its verdict on this operation and according to it, this is definitely a scam.
What exactly are we dealing with here though?
VoteTheWill.org is a website that does not really tell us anything at all.
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It masquerades as some sort of an organization doing political surveys to keep the US electorate informed.
That is their sales angle and that is what they stick to through the website, as well as in the phone calls that they make.
The truth is though that the operation is indeed a PAC and it collects funds for an undisclosed political entity/cause.
Exactly what kind of entity/cause this is, is anyone’s guess at this point.
What is clear however is that the people behind this scam are keen on not disclosing any details in this regard.
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The About Us page of the website only delivers some generic blurb about why the organization does what it does. Nothing of essence is delivered there in any shape or form regarding its background.
The address where Informed Electorate is “located” is PO Box 30040
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0040 – and that says a lot about their “legitimacy” as well.
The phone number provided is 1-888-823-7806, but we absolutely DO NOT encourage you to call under any circumstances.
Taking a peek at the Whois information of the domain yields a few more generous – yet probably still unimportant – bits of information. Apparently, the domain was registered by a certain Brett Payne, who supposedly lives at 871 Milestone Drive, Smithfield, UT.
Scamadviser have given an abysmal score to the operation, and while they say the site claims to be based in the US, there is no way of telling, as its real location is hidden.
What is the MO of Informed Electorate?
The operator simply contacts people by phone. That’s how it all starts.
The phone numbers are collected through their website (where would-be victims are given the possibility to register for polling themselves) or who knows where…
The first call is kept simple and people are usually presented with a very straightforward question, to get things going and to build up some level of “trust.”
Those who ask uncomfortable questions during this stage, are eventually disconnected.
The Informed Electorate system never answers any of those questions.
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The robot-system handling the calling is probably set to attempt to steer the conversation back to its starting point, whenever something unexpected like that occurs, though some people have reported human interlocutors, so that may not always be the case.
Once the victim agrees to answer more of these seemingly innocent questions, the pestering begins.
The service begins to place calls daily.
Initially, slightly more intricate questions are asked, then, contributions are solicited.
This is where people usually realize they’re being duped, but – if the contribution reports made available by the operation to Utah authorities are any indication – scores agree to contribute between $5 and $60, to a cause/destination they know nothing about.
During the fund-soliciting stage of the campaign, the operation often employs high-pressure sales tactics.
Is Informed Electorate a registered operation?
Yes, it is.
It is apparently a PAC registered in Utah and some of its Contribution Reports are indeed available for viewing online.
In a nutshell, what these people do is legal, but that does not make it right.
The incessant pestering, the soliciting of funds and the whole MO (which misleads people into thinking they’re supporting an organization whose sole activity is the polling of the US public), reeks of scam.
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Whom does Informed Electorate support with the funds collected off this scheme?
Nobody really seems to know that.
People discuss the scam and provide details on it through various channels (among them Facebook) and some speculate that it may be the fundraising branch of a far-right organization, but no one can produce any relevant proof in this regard.
Handing out credit card information to a bunch as shady as this one is obviously not a good idea, so steer clear of them and cut them off as soon as possible if they happen to call you.
Bottom line
Votethewill.org is a front for a Utah-based PAC which collects money in support of an unknown political entity.
Informed Electorate, the company behind it all, masquerades as a polling agency, but it ends up using high-pressure tactics to demand donations.
No one is willing to step forth as the entity behind Informed Electorate.
Over time, the operators used a number of different URLs to run their “service”, such as TheInformedElectorate.com, InformedElectoratePac.com and InformedElectorate.com, among others.
” Disappointed commented on VoteTheWill.org Review – Americans for an Informed Electorate (or Rather: for Endless Robo-calls?).
in response to Jane:
Grow up. A.berry.
They have just revealed their true colors with a slight change in the script. This last robocaller admitted they were calling on behalf of Trump, so this organization is far from impartial.”
Thank you! Now we know. Not surprising, really. At least they are not misrepresentating themselves any more.
It sounds like somebody just trying to make money
They are apparently being investigated by the FBI.
deseretnews.com/article/900075293/utah-americans-for-an-informed-electorate-pac-spencer-cox-gary-herbert-joe-demma.html
sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/06/12/critics-call-this-utah/
From the first link:
“Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said Thursday he looked at shutting down a political action committee tied to Gov. Gary Herbert’s former campaign manager that’s raised millions, but was told to hold off to protect an ongoing investigation.
“Law enforcement asked us not to do anything on this, so we’ve had our hands tied on this for the last 18 months,” Cox told the Deseret News about the Americans for an Informed Electorate PAC.
Formed in February 2016, the PAC has collected almost $4.8 million in small contributions from around the country but has not used those funds to support any candidates or causes, according to filings with the lieutenant governor’s office.
Спасибо!!!
Many thanks for all this background. They have been calling me at breakfast time about every six weeks for a couple of years, and I wondered who was behind it all. Always one question, and clearly most questions were right-wing biased, but (apparently) they report the results of the last survey I answered at the beginning of the next call. They often ask for a donation, for the grand cause of having the most authoritative opinion results to inform politicians what the electorate really thinks, but I have never given. This has made me think there may be other things going on!
For me it has always been a robocall with a jovial male who is confident and very patronizing. I wonder if that is the website’s Brett G Payne from Utah. Does anyone from Logan, Amalga, Smithfield or Salt Lake City know him, or can someone near check him out? He’s reportedly 54 years old (born: 8/24/1964) and reachable at: 871 Milestone Dr, Smithfield, UT, 84335-2523, or by phone either on (435) 787-8407 or (435) 563-2743 . It says he is currently a registered Republican, ethnicity is Caucasian, a Christian, and drives (or used to drive) a BMW x5!
I just went on the website, as the robocall suggests, to see the results. I see they are not openly sharing the results. I have to identify myself first. That does not seem like an organization that wants to spread the word so we can be and “informed electorate” and so politicians can “vote the will. Why so secretive? Could this be a Russian/NRA initiative to help build the database of opinions of voting Americans in St Petersburg, I wonder? There should have been a huge investigation over the last two years, but thanks to Trump being so compromised and not fighting back, we seem to have no way to find out.
I’ve been called numerous times and the last time they did ask for a $60 donation, which I said OK to. Next charge card bill I got had two $60 transactions, one two days after the first one. I called by card co. and they are still processing the request. I just got another call from the I. E. Co. to tell me they couldn’t process my last transaction. I had my card changed after that last charge they made. The guy said it must have been a mistake and said that I should call their cust. serv. number. He said that it was 1-888-326-7806 and I read the numbers to him as he gave them to me so I know I got them right and it was the number to Com Cast business office. I am done with them now and he didn’t ask me for a new card number so all OK, I think.
I also made the mistake of giving them information. I called my credit card company and reported the transaction as a scam (fraud). They immediately took care of the problem for me.
I encourage you to contact your bank, report the problem and ask how they can protect your money.
I have taken several of these calls, and all were at a decent hour. I am surprised at the comments mentioning donations as they have never asked nor alluded to money. The purpose seemed like one I would want my opinion noted, so I never minded the calls.
I took two calls and on the third they asked for $25. I hung up.
So you took three calls, not the two you stated. So this of course is how some statements and questions by surveys are called biased, when they state something as a fact followed by a contradicting statement. So either you took their call twice or took their call three times, both statements cannot be true, which of course makes you an unreliable source of information. Probably a shill for the left wing open the borders for the poor (who know a good thing when they see it) and let them all pour in until Texas, Arizona, and California all become Spanish as a First Language States.
This is what I don’t like about IEPAC. I hung up one time and NOW, the voice recording REMINDS me that I AGREED TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS, so here goes the questions, basically. I don’t mind doing meaningful surveys about anything at all. First, I’m sure I gladly answered the questions on the first call 3 or 4 years ago, but I didn’t realize that meant that I would have to continue to answer their calls forever! Second, I don’t work for them and they are not my parents, so SHAMING me into answering more questions by REMINDING me that I PROMISED to answer questions (PROMISED? YEARS AGO?) makes me want to hang up every time. The SHAMING is soft bullying, to say the least.
These calls come at all hours of the day and evening. At first, I was polite and answered the questions, but after many more times of being disturbed by these nonsense calls, I had to get quite curt with the caller. These calls and many other scam calls are becoming a nuisance and an invasion of our privacy.
Unfortunately. They “got” me. I had received calls before and believed that it was a true polling organization. I agreed to send $15.00, and requested the pledge be sent in the mail, because I don’t give money over the phone. After they got my name and address, he said that, to save postage, he wanted to send it to my email. So now they have my name, address and email. I then looked it up and found this site. I am angry with myself for falling for this scam, and have no intention of sending them money, but I don’t know what the repercussions of giving them all of that information will be. I feel so stupid!
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I, too, have been getting these calls with different numbers. Thanks to Caller ID I do not answer, but I sometimes check to see if I can find out who is calling. I appreciate all the information on this site. I was getting one call a day; now I get two or three, with different numbers. We should not have to be bothered in our own homes with these pests. Don’t answer; never answer “poll” questions unless they are local and the caller identifies himself. NEVER NEVER DONATE OVER THE PHONE.
I do not now who IEPAC supports, but based on the ridiculous so-called results of previous “poll” , it is a pro-Trump operation. No president with a less than 40% approval rating gets 45% support for their policies as reported by IEPAC at the beginning of the phone call.
OMG! And how do you know the previous Poll that stated Trump received a less than 40% approval rating was any more above board than the IEPAC? Did you search the web for the provider of that Survey? Who paid for that Survey? Or did you just take the media’s word for it because it matches how you feel? I laugh every time I hear a liberal talk about Trump as a great deal of them voted for him, yes it is a fact, look into it. The truth is Hilary was a poor candidate, and many moderate liberals wanted a change of the politics as usual and thought Trump would be that man. Unfortunately for all of us, it appears he is not.
Just Shut up Jeff, seriously.
I get a call from them every day and now don’t answer. Before when I did answer they asked me for a donation but what it was actually for is hard to figure out. I said no but they still call but I have Caller ID now. I don’t feel like answering political questions. They are probably just trying to make money so they don’t have to get a job.
Nothing but a fund raising machine with no services provided.
I did not mind that much taking the survey but when I refused to give them money, for the 3rd time, they said they’d stop calling me for my opinion. The only reason they called me for my opinion was in hopes I’d give $$
I have received calls on everything from problems in government to gun control. Every call starts with I had “agreed” to giving opinions to a poll. Always a live person and someone that didn’t want to hear my opinions because they hung up. I never agreed to giving opinions, but will usually administer one if pressed. I have been numerous times since 2016. I have only been pressed for money once since 2016. I have been treated rudely when questions concern gun rights, gun legislation and state’s rights to legislate laws regulating rights. Funny how I was asked to give money in relation to Second Amendment rights. However, hung up on when I opined the states needed to do something to combat gun violence. NRA reaches? Whatever! This divisiveness on every subject posed to our current leaders has to stop. There is a reason Trump wasn’t invited to McCain’s NATIONAL tribute. If folks–all folks–do not get it by now, they never will. If informed electorate truly wanted to be informed, all they would have to do is observe what is happening all around their CHOSEN son. It was a mistake of grand measure. I will be more profane in any further calls to alleviate my own guilt.
Drink the Democrat Kool-Aid much. What a retard.
Hey A.berry, the person with limited intellectual ability is YOU
Grow up. A.berry.
They have just revealed their true colors with a slight change in the script. This last robocaller admitted they were calling on behalf of Trump, so this organization is far from impartial.
I saw an ad and gave them my info as an experiment, I wanted to see what they were about. They’ve robo-called me once a month for a year. I just got off the phone with their robocaller a minute ago. The calls are not at only pressure to give them money. They start simply, asking one ‘poll question’, which is fairly neutral, but definitely has a right-wing point of view. The next call says something like, ‘your answers to our last question was really insightful.’ And I do recall they did give results, so many percent said, this, so many said that…
I can’t remember, but I think it was about six months in (that is six calls from them) when they first started asking for money. I’ve never given them a dime. Today (one year on) the robocall said they weren’t going to ask any poll questions, but they really wanted me to donate. They asked for $25. I declined, they said, how about $15? I declined again (of course). The robocall voice was very happy sounding as they said they just couldn’t keep calling me without my giving them money, and if I go to the website and donate something, they’ll be happy to keep calling me once a month with more poll questions…
Needless to say, I’m NOT going to give them any money.
This was an interesting experiment.
That was and is what I get from them as well but sometimes I get a real person who is very polite, Nick is his name. I did donate $25. But I do keep checking my acct to make sure I’m not wiped out.
You are missing the point or in other words you’re not seeing the big picture.
Are they compiling your info to sell to various organizations? Probably.
Are they giving a forum, to discuss topics? Yes. So you can be part of an informed electorate. ??
If they were a truly trying to help, they would be compiling this data and providing it to the people who really need it: our elected officials. All of them, regardless of party.
Do you really want your voice to be heard? email, call or write your elected officials and tell them how you feel on the issues that matter to you. That means your city councils, mayor, governor, county supervisor, state representative, and of course your congressman and senator. That would be time well spent. Just my two cents worth.
I get the impression that this is primarily a data mining operation. They get your phone number and, through the monthly surveys, can build a profile of your political interests that they can sell to or share with another PAC or political campaign. The data can be used later for hitting you up for political donations or by campaigns to look for likely voters that might be “nudged” to turn out or change their opinion for a political candidate.
The survey questions are subtley phrased to try to make you more inclined to vote in favor of a Republican position in the poll, but not as obvious as “push polls”.
They’re also using a name, Informed Electorate, that was formerly associated with a now-defunct truly non-partisan political organization, which is misleading.
This is a Republican scam and should be avoided.
sounds like all the comments here are from dupes of the communist party (them o crates)
The caller ( who was a human being) was insistent as to my providing him my mailing address no matter how many times I plainly stated that I wasn’t going to give it to him. I finally had to hang up on him. As others have said, their website is particularly ambiguous. This is clearly some kind of scam.
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The “caller” (aka computer) told me he was calling to inform me of the results of the last survey. After claiming to have polled nearly 600,000 people with the question, “Would you vote for Trump if the election was held today?” – the “YES” replies were reported to be 3% higher than the “NO” replies. I have now blocked the number.
I received a call, just now. I have not found in pressure of any sort. The (aka computer) is good, I have to say, and I always hang up and think to myself, was that a computer? I got out of it the same as you and that if everyone would answer these surveys we would have a better vision of how We stand as Americans.
Come on guys. They are not Republicans that support Trump, or Democrats supporting Hillary, or Bernie Sanders people. They are bad greedy people trying to cheat anyone out of their money. They could care less what you think as long as they can get your money. It’s getting tiredsom hearing everything getting blamed on Trump. Whomever I decide to support, I will take the blame for my mistakes, even if as small as answering scam robo calls.
Computer driven. He said he would wait for me to get my checkbook. I told him it was at work and that I had to go get it he said he would wait. I told him it would take a half an hour. He said he would wait. I asked if he was a computer and he said he uses a computer in the surveys. Very slick, but not that slick.
Thanks for this information. I got a number of innocuous phone questions and responded, but today for the first time they asked for a donation. I never donate over the phone, and after getting their URL I checked them out on your site. Good to have this type of resource (your site) available for these issues; thanks again.
I too have been getting calls, usually asking only one question. The last time they asked for a donation. I don’t recall agreeing, but I got a letter asking for my “pledge” of $25.00. Before I sent them any money I decided to “google” them and found this website. The “pledge” request in now in the recycle bin. Thanks for the information. I will no longer answer their questions.
Had first (and now the last call) from them today, with just one question, no solicitation. Caller ID is IEPAC, # is 541-320-9690.
i get a monthly call, answer the question, don’t donate. i think scam might be a bit much. more transparency would be great, but i don’t mind answering a poll question.
my call came from 312-312-7140 and informed electorate showed up on ID. since it is election season – i figured it was a campaign call. got the one question – did i approve of the policies of the president. my HELL NO was not recognized. they asked if i would take further surveys – i asked who were they – got an ambiguous answer – said yes, and then they asked me to spell my name. no way – if you don’t know who you just called – i am not going to tell you. then found this website – next call will go to voice mail. thanks for the info folks.
I have been getting calls for a while and thought it was legit. It was always “Ryan” that called. Then I got a solicitation call from another organization and it was the same “Ryan” – I recognized his voice, it’s very distinctive – and for some reason that has totally creeped me out, so I have stopped answering the calls. The numbers are not always the same, but at least the caller id says who it is.
I fell for it. After about the 3rd call (they were calling once a month) they started soliciting and I did it by credit card. I thought it was a one time deal. They would call occasionally, but only with one question and never any follow up info. Then I decided to check out their site and it really angered me because everything was right leaning. Then the next time I went to check my bank records I found they were taking a donation every month. I called and cancelled that card and then I started receiving letters wanting “my pledge”. They still call and I ignore. They send letters and I recycle. Live and learn the hard way I guess.
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I think it’s likely that it is a front for an alt-right group. I’ve mistakenly answered questions over time, and like others here, a couple months ago they started asking for donations. Today’s question was MUCH more skewed than previous ones, asking about the newest SCOTUS appointee, and calling him the VERY honorable and respected . . . blah blah, with THEIR emphasis on the VERY honorable & VERY respected . . . Also today – for the first time – they provided the poll results from their last call. Based on the results of a survey of WELL OVER 5 million, 44% said they would re-elect trump if the election was held “today”, while 41% said they would not; 15% were unsure. If those numbers ARE accurate, then I’m scared. Very scared.
Got the same call. I also believe this is a front for a Trump-backed PAC (can’t call it alt-right anymore because unfortunately they’ve already taken over the Republican Party). Answered option 2 — that I do not support the nominee because he supports absolute prosecutorial immunity for a president. I’m hoping I don’t get called again since I didn’t give them the answer they wanted.
They’ve been calling me monthly, only once a month, for about a year. Always a computer. Started trying to solicit a donation a few months ago. Nothing more to report, except that with a claimed five million subscribers you’d think they’d be having a little political impact or public profile.
Like you, I got two or three calls where I was asked questions. On the last call, they got down to asking for a donation. I NEVER DONATE OVER THE PHONE. The caller was persistant and kept trying to talk me into giving information I will not give out on the phone. They sent a letter requesting I honor a pledge which I did not give.I smell a scam.
Informed Electorate PAC
P.O. Box 30040
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0040
votethewill.org
These people have been calling my house daily for over 5 months. Apparently, my elderly mother agreed to answer a few questions the first time they called. They now ask for her. I never answered the calls until a few weeks ago, to tell them to stop calling 2-3X EVERY day for months. I told them my mother did not want to speak to them, and to stop calling. Obviously, that did not work. Today, I tried blocking the number, so we will see. I tried complaining to the FTC, but since they call themselves political, they offer no recourse. Can’t someone make them stop?
I receive one call monthly, am asked a relevant political question and given the results of the previous month’s question. No solicitation and not unlike other polling calls.
Third call today – 813-295-2840, 617-581-0895,646-813-2670, so different number every time, and today is the first call asking for donations to “educate” us all to be informed voters. This guy made a couple of comments about “problems in the White House,” and “problems in government,” and how we’d all be better informed for just $25. lol I asked who sponsored the group, and he said “just a concerned citizen, but we have several people who support it,” or words to that effect. I told him if he wasn’t going to give me any information about it, no money would be given. He kept insisting, and I hung up.
I answered their questions on the first couple calls, thinking it was an actual survey. Today they asked for money, and I told them to get F off. They’re taking advantage of the current political divide and that’s BS
Definitely a sucker approach, they got me but no cash given. These people definitely know how to work the system… after one survey call, the pestering is starting. I refused, demanded something in the mail. Agreed to send it, then asked for an email address to follow up… once they had it, they wanted to email the “pledge letter.” I refused to “play the game” so they say they will mail the letter. I’m betting they won’t, but will start hounding me for the pledge I “agreed” to… (had to have an amount to send the letter). According to the website the caller gave me, they’ve only completed 3 surveys and those are not reported the way the caller described. The sad thing is, if an organization was actually doing what they claim to be doing, I’d probably support it. But this is, as described, really a just barely legal attempt to get donations for someone or something else.
Have been called 3x, never asked for $$$. Questions are similar or same as InformedElectorate. However, I believe one is answering to a computer and not a live person. First call was by a live person and when I asked deeper questions, she hung up w/o answering.