The Fighting 29th

All about New York's 29th Congressional District

The New York State Democratic Committee just held a conference call to air allegations about robo-calls that may be happening in the 29th. According to the Committee's lawyer, Frank Hoare, the calls follow one of two patterns:

1. The call begins by saying that someone from the Massa campaign is calling, then the phone disconnects. After the recipient hangs up, they're called back multiple times.
2. The voter answers the call, hears a long pause, and then gets an anti-Massa message.

Hoare used the 29th as a specific example of a district where such calls were occurring. He was long on accusations and short on proof, though he did point out that this type of robo-calling strategy has been used by Republicans in the past.

Even if the calls aren't intentional hang-ups, they're probably illegal. According to federal statute, all robo-calls must clearly identify who's initiating the call at the beginning. The calls that have been recorded don't do that until the end. They begin with "Hello, I'm calling with information about [candidate name]". So, if what's happening is malfunctioning robo-call, instead of an intentionally devious one, part of the problem is that the call doesn't follow federal law.

Rochesterturning has a post that details what to do if you've gotten a robo-call like this.