So far this year, there have been no election fraud cases in the state, but the U.S. attorney’s office will be on duty to respond promptly to any complaints that may arise on Election Day.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said an assistant U.S. attorney will be on duty Election Day to respond to any complaints of possible election fraud and voting rights violations in Kansas.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton will be available to the public at 913-551-6730 while the polls are open on Nov. 4.
“Anyone who has evidence of possible electoral corruption or voting rights abuses should call my office immediately,” Grissom said.
Grissom said he does not expect any problems during the voting, but warned that there are penalties under federal law for any efforts to fraudulently influence the outcome of the election or to improperly prevent another person from exercising the right to vote.
As the lawyer in the Kansas U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for election matters, Patton will join other federal prosecutors across the nation as part of the election-day program of the U.S. Department of Justice. They will be responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.
The FBI’s Kansas City Field Office will also have Special Agents available to receive allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression, and other election abuses. The public can provide information regarding possible election crimes to the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office’s toll-free hotline, 1-855-527-2847, or email [email protected].
Citizen complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767, by fax at 202-307-3961, by email to [email protected], or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
Any questions involving state or local issues may be referred to the Elections Division of the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office at 785-296-4561 or 1-800-262-8683, or to the pertinent county election office.