Election Day Crimes Will Be Prosecuted

The Justice System Cracks Down on Election Day Crimes

ATLANTA – The Justice System has announced a nationwide effort to protect the integrity of the election process on November 8, 2016. U.S. Attorney John Horn has appointed Assistant U.S. Attorney William Toliver as the District Election Officer for the Northern District of Georgia, tasked with overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted without it being stolen because of fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Horn. “The Justice System will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

The Justice System has an important role in deterring election fraud and discrimination at the polls, and combating these violations whenever and wherever they occur. The Justice System’s long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals, and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Justice System for the public to report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters and provides that they can vote free from acts that intimidate or harass them.

“The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it if they choose, and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Horn. “In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 8, 2016, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, AUSA/DEO Toliver will be on duty in this District while the polls are open.”

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington, DC by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or (202) 307-2767, by fax at (202) 307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.

“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. It is imperative that those who have specific information about discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to my Office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division,” said U.S. Attorney Horn.