Before the New Hampshire primary, some voters in the Granite State started getting robocalls with the voice of President Joe Biden. The president wasn't calling to get voters to the polls, it was the opposite. An AI-generated recording that sounded like Biden was trying to keep people home on Election Day.

Investigators say they have figured out some of the companies responsible for sending out those calls. Federal regulators say fake calls like the one in New Hampshire could be illegal election interference. 

What You Need To Know

  • State attorneys general, including North Carolina's, are warning companies against using AI robocalls to mislead people about the 2024 elections

  • North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein says the scam calls could violate state and federal law

  • Investigators blamed a scam robocall, featuring an AI-generated version of President Joe Biden's voice, on two companies, which could face state and federal sanctions

  • North Carolina's primary elections are set for March 5, Super Tuesday

In North Carolina, AI-generated election calls could violate the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Truth in Caller ID Act and state consumer protection laws, according to Attorney General Josh Stein. 

“Our elections are fundamental to our democracy, and I will not stand for anyone spreading misinformation about the election and infringing upon people’s right to vote,” Stein said in a news release. “We will fight back against these scam callers and defend the integrity of our democracy.”

Stein joined 50 other attorneys general from around the country to warn the companies involved in the New Hampshire call to not try that again. 

"The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office today issued a cease-and-desist letter against Life Corp as part of its ongoing investigation into the matter," Stein's office said. 

"The Federal Communications Commission’s Enforcement Bureau also issued a cease-and-desist letter against Lingo Telecom, which was identified to have originated a portion of these calls for Life Corp, demanding that it immediately stop supporting illegal robocall traffic on its networks," the attorney general's office said.

North Carolina's primary elections are set for Super Tuesday, March 5, along with 14 other states and one territory. In addition to the presidential primaries, North Carolina has party primaries for governor, the council of state and every seat in the General Assembly.

Stein will be on the ballot again, vying this election for the Democratic nomination for governor. 

An investigation into the New Hampshire robocalls alleges Life Corp used a method called "spoofing" to make the calls look like they were coming from the former chair of the state's Democratic Party.

The fake Biden voice in the call told voters to “save your vote for the November election,” according to the Associated Press.

“Voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again,” the voice said, AP reports. “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”

Experts have been warning since the last election about the impact of artificial intelligence and "deepfakes" in the 2024 elections. The technology behind AI-generated audio, photographs and video is advancing rapidly and could be used with relative ease to confuse and mislead voters.