It’s an election scam that has spread to at least 23 Florida counties, many in Northeast Florida alone.

At least 20 voters in Northeast Florida have received letters appearing to be from their local Supervisor of Elections office- but, in reality, are from Seattle, Washington.

“It’s kind of unusual.  I’ve never seen anyone send out fake or fraud type letters like this in the past,” says St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes.

The letter tells the voter his/her registration status has been questioned, and the voter must bring proof to the local Supervisor’s Office within 15 days or risk getting kicked off the voter rolls.  Oakes says that is one of the giveaways- any letter sent from a Supervisor would give the voter 30 days to respond not 15.

It further says any un-registered voter who votes could be subject to “arrest, imprisonment, and/or other criminal sanctions.”

“The intent could quite possibly be to dissuade someone from legally casting a vote,” says Clay County Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless.

While the State Division of Elections told me they have not yet determined any possible motive for the scheme, it seems Republicans have been most of the targets.

Neither Chambless nor Oakes have seen any trend in their counties.  About 6 fake letters have been sent in in Clay County and 2 so far in St. Johns County.  Two more letters have surfaced in Duval County as well, bringing that total to 12. None have yet been reported in Baker County, and the Nassau Elections Office did not return a call.

The State office was not sure just how many letters have come in, but the number of counties affected has shot up in just one day. The office told me just a few counties had filed reports yesterday morning.  At my last check with them today there were 23.

And those affected voters are dealing with the confusion.

“I’m suspicious of everything, and for them to have fooled me like this- that’s what kinda really surprised me,” says Northside resident Valerie Sawyer.

She told me she never doubted the legitimacy of the letter, and in fact had all her documents together to get ready to go to the Supervisor, until she saw the scam report on the news.  She initially thought she had accidentally been caught in the state’s voter list purge efforts- which she supported.

“I thought, well, this is just one of those things that I’ve just gotten caught up in, and if this is what I have to do then that’s fine,” she says.

After finding out the whole scheme, which may actually revolved around intimidation, and dealing with some confusion around that, Sawyer now feels a little differently.

“It’s kind of a badge of honor to me.  I’m thankful that I was considered enough of a threat,” she says.

For some voters it is easier to tell the letter is fake.

“They did not use my full name, and when I do my letterhead is in with my full name,” says Chambless.

Voters in St. Johns County also saw the county’s name done improperly.  The county as written on the letter is “Saint Johns.”

When comparing letters from the three counties side-by-side (you can see them posted to the left), there is virtually no difference past the Supervisor and County names.  This is another thing Oakes told me is unusual- each office has different logos and insignias.

Other signs to look for to determine whether a letter you get is fake:

-There is an American flag/eagle logo in the upper left hand corner

-The postmark is from Seattle, Washington

-The letter is not signed by your local Supervisor