St. Croix Senator Nereida “Nellie” O’Reilly on Tuesday issued an emergency written notice to the Honorable Jack Smith, Chief, Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, requesting the Federal authority launch an investigation into the Virgin Islands Board of Elections.
The Senator wrote that “the inconsistencies from the Board of Election are cause for alarm regarding all matters of the election, to include early voting, absentee ballots, the custody of ballots, and numerous other allegations.”
In a press release sent to the VI Consortium, Sen. O’Reilly noted that her office has been inundated with calls and messages from concerned citizens on St. Croix “regarding the veracity of the upcoming elections.”
In addition, the Senator pointed out that the Virgin Islands Board of Elections has been embroiled in unresolved conflicts since 2011 and that the results of the August 2, 2014 Primary Elections are still in court with a lawsuit pending.
As of Sun., Oct. 26, the St. Croix District of the Board of Elections has suspended early voting and, O’Reilly said, “is unsure if the recently purchased DS200 scanner/tabulators can even be used in the upcoming election.”
Furthermore, the Senator said she fears the voting process has already been compromised and that without immediate intervention of Federal authorities, “the validity of the entire 2014 election could be in question.”
The election on November 4 will see decisions made on a new governor and U.S. Delegate to Congress, as well as 15 seats in the Virgin Islands Legislature, two referendums, and other local matters.
The Department of Justice Public Integrity Section “oversees the federal effort to combat corruption through the prosecution of elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government. The Section has exclusive jurisdiction over allegations of criminal misconduct on the part of federal judges and also supervises the nationwide investigation and prosecution of election crimes. Section attorneys prosecute selected cases against federal, state, and local officials, and are available as a source of advice and expertise to other prosecutors and investigators,” according to information found on the DOJ’s website.
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