An image carried over a closed-circuit camera on election night sparked a controversy that was largely kept quiet until now. A statement issued by the Election System of the Virgin Islands this week said federal investigators weighed in on the vote count for the 2022 election.
According to Board of Elections Chairman Raymond Williams, the controversy began when some viewers of live election coverage questioned the actions of a poll worker seen on camera. Williams said the camera was set up by elections officials to assure the public about transparency.
Some of the viewers said they saw the worker handle a bag that was used to transport a thumb drive used in a vote tabulator to the site where the board counted ballots. Williams said the worker slipped their hand into the bag while holding it upside down to show the bag was emptied of its contents.
But then the worker was seen on a closed circuit video putting their hand in their pocket. Some of the viewers who saw that action began voicing accusations of wrongdoing. Two days later, the board chairman said a complaint was filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The FBI was also contacted, and an investigation began. On Tuesday, elections officials released a statement about the probe’s results.
“The Election Systems of the Virgin Islands was contacted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding a circulating video on social media involving an Election Systems employee performing standard duties during the Election Night vote count on November 8, 2022. The FBI received numerous complaints and investigated the matter,” the statement said.
“The FBI subsequently discussed the case with the U.S. Attorney General’s Office in Washington, D.C., and both agencies confirmed that no fraudulent or criminal activity occurred during the counting of votes,” it said.
Williams said he believed the social media post was made by some political candidates who ran for public office and lost on Nov. 8. “What was surprising to me was someone sending a letter a few days later to the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” he said.
