SACRAMENTO - U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced today that Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin C. Khasigian will serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the Eastern District of California in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 5 general election. The DEO is 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.
The 34 counties in the Eastern District are Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said U.S. Attorney Talbert. “Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process.”
The Department of Justice has an essential role in deterring discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers, and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals. Also, it seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.
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 voters' rights. It 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 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).
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, AUSA/DEO Khasigian will be on duty in this District while the polls are open. The public can reach him at the following telephone number: 916-554-2723.
U.S. Attorney Talbert stated, “The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. We all must ensure that those entitled to the franchise can exercise it if they choose and that those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice. Those with specific information about voting rights concerns or election fraud must make that information available to the Department of Justice.”
In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day. The local FBI field office can be reached by phone at 916-746-7000.
Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC, using the complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.
Please note, however, that in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.
