Bucks Co. Advises Caution With Unsolicited Election Correspondence

DOYLESTOWN, PA — The Bucks County Board of Elections (BOE) reminds voters to remain vigilant when interacting with unsolicited election mail, email and text messages.

A county resident last week notified the Board of Elections Office of an email originating from a Gmail address titled “Bucks County Elections” that advocated for political candidates of one political party in the May 20 municipal primary election and encouraged the recipient to click a link to apply for a mail-in ballot.

It was understandably unclear to the recipient, who had already applied for a ballot, whether this message was an official communication from the county.

According to the Board of Elections, it was not official Board of Elections correspondence.

“While this message does not appear to be malicious or even necessarily intended to mislead, it did cause some concern on the part of a voter that we were happy to clear up,” said Board of Elections Director Tyler Burns. “I hope this can serve as a reminder to Bucks County voters that the Board of Elections and our staff are here to help.”

The Board of Elections asks residents to take note of the following:

• The Board of Elections rarely corresponds via email with voters; when it does, those emails typically come in response to questions emailed to BOE or regarding specific election matters, such as poll worker assignments or mail-in ballot issues.
• Any emails originating from the Bucks County Board of Elections will contain either the suffix “buckscounty[dot]org” or “buckscounty[dot]gov,” never from a Gmail or similar non-government address.
• The Board of Elections Office will never emphasize support for one candidate or political party over another.
• Cybersecurity experts recommend against clicking links in emails or text messages if they were received unexpectedly, or if the recipient is unsure who sent them.

If in doubt about any election-related communication, call the Board of Elections Office at 215-348-6154. To learn more about voting in Bucks County, visit BucksCounty.gov/Elections.