‘ALERTED’

Law Enforcement Probing Calls to Abortion Petition Signers

The secretary of state of South Dakota warned the public to be aware of “scammers.”

The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation has been asked to make inquiries into a series of phone calls Monday made to people who signed a petition to get an abortion rights constitutional amendment on the ballot in November, according to a report. KELO-TV reported that one person received a call from someone claiming to be from the Secretary of State’s Office who proceeded to ask questions about the call recipient’s decision to sign the petition in a “judgmental tone.” The caller later told a reporter they had made the call on behalf of the South Dakota Petition Integrity Committee. Secretary of State Monae L. Johnson released a public warning “to be aware of scammers” pretending to be with her office who are “trying to pressure voters into asking that their name be removed from the Abortion Rights petitions.” A GOP state representative who runs the petition integrity commission confirmed his volunteers called signatories but said they hadn’t lied. The purpose of the calls was to find out if signatories had been misled, he added.