This appeared yesterday in the Philadelphia Inquirer ...

The U.S. Attorney's Office flooded Camden phone lines the day of the May 8 councilmanic race with warnings that taking money for votes was a federal crime.

In a crucial election in which the turnout was under 4,000 and in which allegations of money being paid for votes were rife on both sides, the U.S. Attorney put out the following unusual alert:

"Voters alert!" said the taped message. "Please note that it is a federal crime to be paid for a vote. I repeat, it is a crime. If you or your neighbor have been offered payment, please report it immediately to the U.S. Attorney's Office at 856-757-5026."

This strikes me as extremely odd -- both for the US Attorney's office's interest in this one election and their manner of contacting the public. Was there any investigative predicate? Any specific reasons to think there was an organized vote fraud conspiracy in this particular election?

Anyone know anything more on this? More context? Did you get one of the calls?