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-yrElection
fraud
charge probed
By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock Neva Staff Writer
Commonwealth’s Attorney Peter Luke confirmed this week that he is investigating an allegation of illegal voting in Washington’s Town Council election.
Mr. Luke said his office received a formal complaint that improperly registered voters had participated in the May 1 election. He refused to name the individuals involved or the number of voters under investigation.
The investigation, which is being carried out by Mr. Luke and the Rappahannock County Sheriffs Department, is probing “whether certain persons are entitled to be deemed legal voting residents of the Town of Washington,” Mr. Luke said.
The complaint, Mr. Luke said, was brought by J. Newbill Miller, who ran for and won a seat on the new council which begins its four-year term next month.
Mr. Luke said it is uncertain at this stage of the investigation exactly how many votes may be involved. “Like many investigations, you start with some information and it snowballs.”
However, he added, “from what we know now even if all the allegations turn out to be founded, it would not change the results” of the election.
There are two possible criminal charges which could be placed, the Commonwealth’s Attorney said. One is a felony charge of perjury for making a false statement under oath. That would apply to anyone who knowingly made a false statement under oath when they registered to vote, Mr. Luke explained. The other is a misdemeanor which specifically involves fraudulent voting.
Mr. Luke said that anytime his office receives such a formal complaint, “I have a duty to conduct a preliminary investigation to establish whether cause exists for a criminal investigation.”
In this case, he said, “a preliminary look at the problem convinced us that it is worth looking into further. We have some serious questions about what happened.”
He refused to discuss specific methods or investigative techniques being used, other than to say that a Sheriffs Department investigator is conducting interviews and gathering evidence.
A decision on whether charges will be placed, Mr.
See FRAUD, p. 14
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