Today, Nov. 3, 2026, is Election Day across the US, and that makes it a prime day for election day scams: calls, texts and videos that sound official and are not. A message telling you your polling place moved, that you can vote by text, or that lines are closed may be fake. Here is a simple way to check before you act on it or pass it on.
The short version
Treat any call, text or video about when, where or how to vote as unconfirmed until you check it with your state or local election office.
- Get voting times and places only from your state or local election office website, not from a call, a text or an AI chatbot.
- New York’s attorney general warned voters in October that today’s AI fakes “may have no obvious flaws,” so looking for glitches is no longer enough.
- The FCC has ruled that AI-generated voices count as “artificial” under the federal robocall law, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
- Real political polls do not offer prizes or ask for a card number, and Vermont’s election office warns never to pay for anything with a gift card.
- Report fake posts to the platform they are on, and report false voting information to your state election office or attorney general.
In plain terms: the only thing a fake message needs to do today is make you skip voting, go to the wrong place or hand over money. A two-minute check stops all three.
Why election day scams are harder to spot this year
In an Oct. 14 warning to voters, New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office said: “Today’s AI fakes are far more convincing, and those warning signs may no longer be present.” It added that “AI fakes have improved so much that they may have no obvious flaws.”
That changes the advice. For years, the tip was to look for odd hands, blurry edges or a robotic voice. Vermont’s Secretary of State still lists those signs, such as slurred words, a flat tone and odd blinking. They are worth knowing, but a clean-looking video can still be fake. So check where the message came from, not just how it looks.
Five checks before you act on any election message today
- Go to the source yourself. For where, when and how to vote, use your state or local election office website. Type the address yourself or search for it; do not tap a link in a text.
- Do not ask a chatbot. New York’s attorney general told voters directly: “Do not rely on AI chatbots to answer questions about elections or voting.” Chatbots can be out of date or wrong about local details.
- Hang up and call back. If a caller says something changed about your polling place, end the call, look up your election office’s number on its official site and call it.
- Slow down on shocking content. Be most careful with videos and audio that make you angry, scared or surprised. Do not share them until a trusted source confirms them.
- Never pay to vote. Voting is free. Vermont’s Secretary of State notes that “legitimate political polls will not offer prizes for participation and will not require a credit card number,” and adds: “never pay for anything with a gift card.”
What the law says about AI robocalls
The FCC unanimously ruled that calls using AI-generated voices count as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The agency titled its announcement “FCC Makes AI-Generated Voices in Robocalls Illegal.” In practice, a robocall that uses a cloned voice is treated like any other robocall that uses an artificial or prerecorded voice, and you can report it.
Where to report a fake
- Fake posts and videos: report them on the app where you saw them.
- False voting information: tell your state or local election office. Some states also take reports through the attorney general. In New York, the attorney general’s election hotline is (866) 390-2992.
- Robocalls: you can report unwanted robocalls to the FCC.
Want to help someone else spot fakes? Our guide to spotting AI scams covers voice cloning, and our tips on talking to parents about scams can help you start that call without a fight.
