Virginia’s attorney general is calling on the legislature to empower his office to launch investigations into allegations of vote-tampering like the incident that occurred last week in Harrisonburg. Ken Cuccinelli II on Monday sent a letter to Sen. Donald McEachin in response to his call for a probe at the state level into the Oct. 15 incident. In his response, Cuccinelli said he is not opening an investigation because he hasn’t yet been asked to do so.“My office does not have the authority to investigate election matters unless explicitly requested to do so by State Board of Elections, a local commonwealth’s attorney, or a local electoral board member,” the letter reads. “No such request has been made to date. … My hands are tied in this matter.”
McEachin (D-Richmond) said he has seen the letter and suggested that political motivations could be the reason Cuccinelli is not pursuing the issue. “A Republican-controlled State Board of Elections is not asking the Republican attorney general to investigate what a Republican vendor did about putting voter registration forms in the trash,” McEachin said when reached by telephone Monday. “Is anybody surprised?”
Full Article: Virginia AG wants power to probe election issues – Virginia Politics – The Washington Post.