Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Huston will lead the efforts for the District of the Virgin Islands regarding the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5 general election, United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced Wednesday.
Huston has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer and, in that capacity, will be responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of Election Day complaints of voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and election fraud in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington, DC, according to the press release.
The Justice Department has an important role in deterring and combating discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers and election fraud and will address these violations wherever they occur. The
The long-standing Election Day Program furthers these goals and seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the department so that the public can report possible federal election law violations, the press release stated.
“Every citizen must be free to cast his/her vote without interference or discrimination and
to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” Smith said. “Moreover, election officials and staff must be allowed to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials
or staff, 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 interference, including intimidation and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English), the release stated.
“The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy,” Smith said. “We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. In order to respond to complaints of voting rights concerns and election fraud during the upcoming election and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Huston will be on duty in this district while the polls are open and can be reached by the public at 340-773-3920.”
The FBI will also have special agents available in each field office to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day and can be reached by the public at 340-777-3363. Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, by complaint form found at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by calling 800-253-3931, the release stated.
“Ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American
electorate,” Smith said. “It is important that those who have specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
Please note, however, that in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. The Virgin Islands Police Department has primary jurisdiction over polling places and can react sooner in an emergency, the release stated.
