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People Pretending to Be Election Officials Are Knocking on Arizonans’ Doors and Asking How They Voted

Yavapai County Recorder Leslie Hoffman says there were at least two incidents last week of people falsely claiming to be affiliated with her office.

Residents in Yavapai County, Arizona, have reported strange visits to their homes by people falsely claiming to be local election officials. The door knockers have approached at least two separate homes, saying they’re from the county recorder’s office and asking residents how they voted back in November. In one of two incidents from last week, two people claiming to be election officials—but failing to prove their affiliation with the recorder’s office—inquired about the names of those residing at the house. It’s unclear why the impersonators have been peppering residents with questions, but Yavapai County Recorder Leslie Hoffman worries it could result in identity theft.

The Arizona state Senate had planned to have canvassers door knock in Maricopa County, contracting a Florida-based firm, Cyber Ninjas, to confirm whether valid voters lived in their stated addresses. However, the company’s CEO said that canvassers would not be allowed to ask voters which specific candidate they voted for as it could violate federal law, according to a letter by an attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. Plans to visit some voters in the county were ultimately dropped.