HARTFORD — After national reports of suspicious phone calls, purportedly to register voters over the phone and to arrange for an absentee ballot, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill is warning voters to be alert for these calls. The calls claim to be from a reputable voter registration organization, TurboVote, but the organization has confirmed that the calls are not from their organization.

“It is critical that voters are aware of this potential scam and do not give out any personal information over the phone,” said Merrill. “We would like every eligible Connecticut to register to vote, but that will never take place over the phone. Please go to [naviga:u]portal.ct.gov/SOTS/Election-Services/Voter-Information/Voter-Fact-Sheet[/naviga:u], or your local town hall, to register to vote.”

Voters are warned to not share their personal information over the phone. If you receive one of these calls, hang up and the report the call to Taffy Womack at the Secretary of the State’s office at 860-509-6117 or e-mail [naviga:u]Taffy.Womack@ct.gov[/naviga:u].

The callers are offering to register residents over the phone, and in some cases, to send the voter an absentee ballot. In Connecticut, residents cannot register to vote by phone, and to get an absentee ballot a voter has to request an absentee ballot application from their Town Clerk and return it with an actual signature.

Reputable voter registration drives will never happen over the phone.