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.
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.
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.