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.
Unfortunately. They “got” me. I had received calls before and believed that it was a true polling organization. I agreed to send $15.00, and requested the pledge be sent in the mail, because I don’t give money over the phone. After they got my name and address, he said that, to save postage, he wanted to send it to my email. So now they have my name, address and email. I then looked it up and found this site. I am angry with myself for falling for this scam, and have no intention of sending them money, but I don’t know what the repercussions of giving them all of that information will be. I feel so stupid!
I, too, have been getting these calls with different numbers. Thanks to Caller ID I do not answer, but I sometimes check to see if I can find out who is calling. I appreciate all the information on this site. I was getting one call a day; now I get two or three, with different numbers. We should not have to be bothered in our own homes with these pests. Don’t answer; never answer “poll” questions unless they are local and the caller identifies himself. NEVER NEVER DONATE OVER THE PHONE.
I do not now who IEPAC supports, but based on the ridiculous so-called results of previous “poll” , it is a pro-Trump operation. No president with a less than 40% approval rating gets 45% support for their policies as reported by IEPAC at the beginning of the phone call.
OMG! And how do you know the previous Poll that stated Trump received a less than 40% approval rating was any more above board than the IEPAC? Did you search the web for the provider of that Survey? Who paid for that Survey? Or did you just take the media’s word for it because it matches how you feel? I laugh every time I hear a liberal talk about Trump as a great deal of them voted for him, yes it is a fact, look into it. The truth is Hilary was a poor candidate, and many moderate liberals wanted a change of the politics as usual and thought Trump would be that man. Unfortunately for all of us, it appears he is not.
Just Shut up Jeff, seriously.
I get a call from them every day and now don’t answer. Before when I did answer they asked me for a donation but what it was actually for is hard to figure out. I said no but they still call but I have Caller ID now. I don’t feel like answering political questions. They are probably just trying to make money so they don’t have to get a job.
Nothing but a fund raising machine with no services provided.
I did not mind that much taking the survey but when I refused to give them money, for the 3rd time, they said they’d stop calling me for my opinion. The only reason they called me for my opinion was in hopes I’d give $$
I have received calls on everything from problems in government to gun control. Every call starts with I had “agreed” to giving opinions to a poll. Always a live person and someone that didn’t want to hear my opinions because they hung up. I never agreed to giving opinions, but will usually administer one if pressed. I have been numerous times since 2016. I have only been pressed for money once since 2016. I have been treated rudely when questions concern gun rights, gun legislation and state’s rights to legislate laws regulating rights. Funny how I was asked to give money in relation to Second Amendment rights. However, hung up on when I opined the states needed to do something to combat gun violence. NRA reaches? Whatever! This divisiveness on every subject posed to our current leaders has to stop. There is a reason Trump wasn’t invited to McCain’s NATIONAL tribute. If folks–all folks–do not get it by now, they never will. If informed electorate truly wanted to be informed, all they would have to do is observe what is happening all around their CHOSEN son. It was a mistake of grand measure. I will be more profane in any further calls to alleviate my own guilt.
Drink the Democrat Kool-Aid much. What a retard.
Hey A.berry, the person with limited intellectual ability is YOU
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.
I saw an ad and gave them my info as an experiment, I wanted to see what they were about. They’ve robo-called me once a month for a year. I just got off the phone with their robocaller a minute ago. The calls are not at only pressure to give them money. They start simply, asking one ‘poll question’, which is fairly neutral, but definitely has a right-wing point of view. The next call says something like, ‘your answers to our last question was really insightful.’ And I do recall they did give results, so many percent said, this, so many said that…
I can’t remember, but I think it was about six months in (that is six calls from them) when they first started asking for money. I’ve never given them a dime. Today (one year on) the robocall said they weren’t going to ask any poll questions, but they really wanted me to donate. They asked for $25. I declined, they said, how about $15? I declined again (of course). The robocall voice was very happy sounding as they said they just couldn’t keep calling me without my giving them money, and if I go to the website and donate something, they’ll be happy to keep calling me once a month with more poll questions…
Needless to say, I’m NOT going to give them any money.
This was an interesting experiment.
That was and is what I get from them as well but sometimes I get a real person who is very polite, Nick is his name. I did donate $25. But I do keep checking my acct to make sure I’m not wiped out.
You are missing the point or in other words you’re not seeing the big picture.
Are they compiling your info to sell to various organizations? Probably.
Are they giving a forum, to discuss topics? Yes. So you can be part of an informed electorate. ??
If they were a truly trying to help, they would be compiling this data and providing it to the people who really need it: our elected officials. All of them, regardless of party.
Do you really want your voice to be heard? email, call or write your elected officials and tell them how you feel on the issues that matter to you. That means your city councils, mayor, governor, county supervisor, state representative, and of course your congressman and senator. That would be time well spent. Just my two cents worth.
I get the impression that this is primarily a data mining operation. They get your phone number and, through the monthly surveys, can build a profile of your political interests that they can sell to or share with another PAC or political campaign. The data can be used later for hitting you up for political donations or by campaigns to look for likely voters that might be “nudged” to turn out or change their opinion for a political candidate.
The survey questions are subtley phrased to try to make you more inclined to vote in favor of a Republican position in the poll, but not as obvious as “push polls”.
They’re also using a name, Informed Electorate, that was formerly associated with a now-defunct truly non-partisan political organization, which is misleading.
This is a Republican scam and should be avoided.
sounds like all the comments here are from dupes of the communist party (them o crates)