Published: October 30, 2008 08:09 pm      

Election fraud crackdown — Proactive efforts key to ensuring fair process

Reports of intense scrutiny of potential election fraud or voting rights violations by federal officials in West Virginia is heartening news in these few days before most residents cast their ballots on Tuesday, Nov. 4.

As with many societal and cultural issues, West Virginia has too often been the subject of jokes stereotyping the state as a hotbed of political corruption. But, even more disheartening, is that it has been true in too many cases through the decades.

We know our state is not inundated with residents whose votes can be bought for a bottle of booze. But some stereotypes and cultural images are hard to shake.

The announcement by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia of the crackdown on election fraud should be welcome news to all residents — and candidates — in the Mountain State.

When announcing the stepped-up enforcement, U.S. Attorney Charles T. Miller said the Southern District office will prosecute any and all reports of election fraud and voting rights violations in order to “ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process.”

“Protection of that integrity has always been a high priority for this office,” Miller told the Daily Telegraph. “West Virginia has a reputation of trying to get away with some things on Election Day. I would like to say that it’s better. We have prosecuted vote-buying and voter intimidation cases in the past.”

While noting the historic nature of this election, Miller also pointed out, “All elections are important. It’s important for people to believe in the process. We will do our job impartially and fairly.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office works hand-in-hand with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office during elections. While the Secretary of State’s office is charged with monitoring the elections, “we have the authority to investigate criminal aspects of election violations. We enforce the federal laws,” Miller said.

Proactive plans are already in place to ensure allegations of election fraud or voting violations are investigated.

Assistant U.S. attorneys Larry R. Ellis and Erik Goes will be on duty while the polls are open as part of the U.S. Justice Department’s nationwide “Election Day Program.” Ellis will serve as the district election officer in the Southern District of West Virginia and will be responsible for “handling complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses,” according to information provided by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The office is also providing telephone numbers where officials can be reached in the event of improprieties. Among the officials voters can call: Assistant U.S. attorneys Ellis and Goes can be reached at (304) 345-2200 or toll free at (800) 659-8726; the public number for the FBI is (304) 346-3232; the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, D.C. can be reached at (800) 253-3931; and the number for the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section is (202) 514-3204.

We hope no one in southern West Virginia will be dialing any of these numbers next Tuesday. But it is always better to be safe than sorry.

We appreciate the proactive efforts by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in stemming election fraud and voting violations, and hope the knowledge that the election process is being watched — closely — will prevent any illegal actions from marring this important day.