RALEIGH, N.C. — A group that made political telemarketing calls that did not comply with North Carolina law has agreed to pay $100,000 in penalties and is barred from operating in the state before the November election, Attorney General Roy Cooper said Wednesday.

The group, Women’s Voices Women Vote, began calling people in North Carolina shortly before the May primary election.  The prerecorded calls, also known as robo calls, told people that they would soon receive voter registration forms in the mail, which they should fill out and submit.  But the deadline to register by mail had passed, and some call recipients already were registered to vote, causing confusion.

Political robo calls are prerecorded telephone calls made by candidates, campaigns and advocacy groups using automated dialers.  Under state law, political campaigns and non-profits making prerecorded calls must identify who is making the call, the nature of the call, and provide contact information for the group that makes the call.

The calls did not identify Women’s Voices Women Vote or tell how to contact them, so people who were confused by the robo calls were not able to ask for clarification.

“My office takes quick action against robo calls that don’t strictly follow the law,” Cooper said. “People who don’t want these calls shouldn’t get them at all.  The law needs to be stronger so that the Do Not Call Registry applies to political robo callers just like any other telemarketer.”

Cooper launched an investigation in April into calls made by Women’s Voices Women Vote and demanded that the group stop the calls.  Cooper’s office received complaints about the calls from consumers, the NAACP and Democracy North Carolina.

Women’s Voices Women Vote today agreed to pay $100,000 in civil penalties for its prerecorded calls to North Carolina residents.  The money will go to North Carolina schools.

In a statement released to the media, Page Gardner, president of Women’s Voices, Women Vote, said the nonprofit group mails registration applications to people it beleives are not registered, or may have moved from their registered address.

“These mailings are frequently preceded by automated telephone calls (“robocalls”) advising the household that they will soon receive voter registration materials.  Unfortunately, due to an inadvertent error, these calls failed to identify WVWV as the organization sponsoring the calls.  WVWV understands that this failure was inconsistent with North Carolina law and, consequently, has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve the North Carolina Attorney General’s investigation of this matter.”

Gardner said it was not the group’s intention to cause confusion. 

Under the settlement agreement, Women’s Voices Women Vote agrees not to resume any voter registration, education, turnout or similar activities in the state until after the Nov. 4 election.  Any future voter activities by the organization in North Carolina must comply with state law and the group would have to provide the Attorney General’s Office with a written description of how it would ensure its compliance with the law.

WVWV seeks to register unmarried women, who constitute 26 percent of the election, and to encourage them to vote.  During the course of its history, WVWV’s efforts have resulted in the submission of more than 1 million voter registration applications across the country, with nearly 900,000 in this election cycle alone.  In North Carolina, WVWV’s efforts have generated more than 42,000 registration applications, including more than 32,000 in 2008.

With Election Day just weeks away and early voting already underway, North Carolinians are receiving more political robo calls from other groups and campaigns.  Earlier this year Cooper urged political parties and candidates to honor the Do Not Call Registry and reminded them to abide by state law that requires disclosures on robo calls.

People who join the Registry are protected from commercial calls by both state and federal laws, but those laws currently exclude political robo calls.  Cooper had asked lawmakers to include political robo calls in the Do Not Call legislation.

“Telemarketers that break our laws will face action from my office, whether they’re calling to pitch you a product or to win your vote,” Cooper said.  “If you get illegal telemarketing calls, let my office know about it.”

To report telemarketers or candidates that make calls unlawfully, consumers can call 1-877-5-NO-SCAM toll free within the state or download a consumer complaint form at www.ncdoj.gov.

To check on their voter registration status, people can visit the state Board of Elections web site at http://www.sboe.state.nc.us/VoterLookup.aspx or contact their local county board of elections.