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Election Day has its (dirty) tricks, too
At the Ross Park Mall, for example, people are distributing leaflets printed on bogus, but official-looking, county stationery telling Republicans to vote Tuesday, Nov. 2, and Democrats to wait a day.
The election will be over on Nov. 3.
The fliers have succeeded in spreading confusion, and county officials spent parts of Wednesday fielding phone calls from residents.
"We don't know who is behind it," said Elections Division Manager Mark Wolosik, who received a copy yesterday afternoon.
Wolosik's office referred the case to the county police, who have launched an investigation to determine who is behind the disinformation campaign. Officials say the fliers also turned up in mailboxes of homes in the North Hills.
The letter reads in part: "Due to the immense voter turnout that is expected on Tuesday November 2 the state of Pennsylvania has requested and extended the voting period ... Voters will be able to vote on both November 2 and November 3."
The letter is signed by "Anne Ryan," and a phone number on the flier rings in Tampa, Fla. Workers there reached by telephone denied any knowledge of the flier.
County officials say the flier is part of the political shenanigans that accompany a hotly contested presidential race.
Still, Wolosik said, "The matter is now a criminal investigation."
County investigators also have launched an investigation into a scam in which University of Pittsburgh and Community College of Allegheny County students believed they were signing petitions to legalize marijuana for medical use, only to find themselves registered as Republicans.
"I can't believe it happened to me," said CCAC student Denise Jones, a North Side Democrat who signed what she believed to be a legitimate petition and received a note from the Republican Party thanking her for switching her registration.
Jones said the man who signed her up said he was being paid $400 for every 200 signatures.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Pittsburgh declined to comment on the cases and referred questions to county elections officials.
Students whose registrations were switched still are eligible to vote in the presidential and other elections Tuesday.
Tom Flaherty, Pittsburgh city controller and chairman of the county Democratic Committee, said he smells a political rat in the chicanery.
"I don't know who the perpetrator is," Flaherty said, "but I imagine some people will fall for it."
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