Voters can still register in person at the Davis County Courthouse, 50 E. State St., Farmington, through Oct. 25. The county is also setting up several satellite locations on Oct. 22 and 25. A list of the outpost registration booths can be found on the county Web site http://www.daviscountyutah.com.

FARMINGTON - The helpful voice on the other end of the phone says, "Push 3, if you'd like to have an absentee ballot sent directly to your home."

Convenient isn't it?

A little too convenient for Pat Beckstead, elections coordinator for Davis County, who says voters taken in by that ruse will never see the ballot or have their vote counted.

"It seems we have someone out there calling people, promising to register them to vote over the phone, or telling them that they can receive a ballot by mail," Beckstead says. "We don't know who it is or why they are doing it."

Beckstead says election workers only recently discovered the telephone scam after a temporary employee, new on the job, received an inquiry from a Davis County resident wondering when they would receive their ballot in the mail.

"She asked one of the other workers how to answer that question, and then there were several of us who reported taking calls along those same lines. We just made the connection that there might be a problem," Beckstead said, emphasizing that such calls definitely are not coming from the county.

The Davis County Clerk's Office does have an automated phone system that calls registered voters on Election Day, reminding them to go to the polls. Davis County Clerk/Auditor Steve Rawlings credited that system with rallying a record number of voters to the polls in August for a special bond election to remodel the Bountiful Recreation Center.

Now that election workers are aware that a prankster is out there trying to keep people from casting their vote, Beckstead says they will begin monitoring the inquiries to see if there's a pattern.

"As of right now, we aren't sure if they are calling all over the county or in just one area," Beckstead said. "They don't seem to be targeting one age group or another."

She hopes people who receive such calls will check their caller-ID machines and call the County Clerk's office and report the problem.

Beckstead says the county has sent out about 3,000 legitimate absentee ballots in the mail. Workers have also registered nearly 10,000 new voters in just the past few weeks.

"We just want people to know that the only way to get an absentee ballot is by making a written request to the county," she said. "The really bad part is, today is the last day to register to vote by mail."

lorib@sltrib.com