Democrats from New Hampshire have detected a fake robocall appearing to encourage supporters of US President Joe Biden not to vote in the state's presidential primary on Tuesday, Jan. 23, prompting one of them to file a complaint with the state attorney general.
In an exclusive report by NBC News, the robocall imitated or digitally manipulated Biden's voice.
"What a bunch of malarkey," the voice message began, echoing a favorite term Biden has uttered before.
The message then said that it was "important" that people should "save" their vote for the November election.
"Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again," the voice message added. "Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday."
The message concluded with a phone number belonging to a certain Kathy Sullivan, a former New Hampshire Democratic Party chair who is now running a super PAC supporting the campaign to urge New Hampshire Democrats to write in Biden's name in the primary.
While Biden's name does not appear on Tuesday's ballot, local supporters launched a late write-in effort as a way to both consolidate support for Biden and send a message to the national party about New Hampshire's coveted tradition of holding the country's first primary.
NH Democrat Leader Shocked with Robocall
In an interview, Sullivan said that she began receiving calls over the weekend from those who received the voice message, including a woman who claimed to be not a Biden supporter.
"I said, 'You got a call from Joe Biden, and he gave you my number?'" Sullivan stated her response.
NBC News obtained the recording after a volunteer for the write-in effort also received the call and recorded it.
While the person who made the robocall has yet to be identified, Sullivan said that it was "obviously somebody who wants to hurt Joe Biden."
"I want them to be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible because this is an attack on democracy," she added. "I'm not going to let it go. I want to know: who's paying for it? Who knew about it? Who benefits?"
Aside from filing a lawsuit, she also planned to engage federal law enforcement in investigating the matter.
New Hampshire is set to hold its primary on Tuesday, with a focus on the Republican race between Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
