Marathon County Election Officials Have Received Reports of Residents Receiving Calls Telling them Polls are Closed

Tuesday, November 8th, 2022 -- 1:01 PM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) Marathon County election officials say don't believe anyone making an unsolicited phone call to you asking who you are voting for, then telling you that your polling place is closed.

According to Mike Leischner with WSAU, Clerk Kim Trueblood says it's a scam for two reasons. "No official election official will be asking, first of all, who you're voting for. All polls in Marathon County are open today from 7am-8pm."

She says voters outside Marathon County should be aware as well. "We do have reason to believe that it is more than Marathon County voters who are getting these calls."

She says if there were to be an issue with your polling place, you would find out through official channels. "There is a process to go through and the time frame for that is well passed. Unless there were to be some type of emergency situation and then we would notify voters through the proper channels through our emergency management notifications."

Public Information officer Sara Severson says the Sheriff's office is investigating and charges are likely if they can catch up to whoever is making the calls. "This certainly is against the law and so a situation like this will need to go through the judicial process."

Officials add that the scammers are spoofing a local number. If you have questions about where to vote you should contact your local clerk's office or check your voter registration status on the My Vote dot WI dot gov website.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.