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.
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.
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.
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.
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.