Fraud suspected in wave of voter registrations in region

Elections and law enforcement officials are investigating a growing number of potentially fraudulent voter registrations in Hampton Roads, just months before the November elections.

In Hampton, three people already have been charged with voter fraud.

The Norfolk voter registrar has turned over a number of suspicious voter applications to police and prosecutors and continues to flag others. In Virginia Beach, the registrar’s office is examining some questionable applications.

Statewide, 10 localities have reported irregularities to the State Board of Elections.

Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jeff Frederick on Monday called on Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Attorney General Bob McDonnell to open a statewide investigation into “what appears to be coordinated and widespread voter fraud activities.”

Hampton police last week charged Brittany Wyatt and Jessica Lemon, both 18-year-olds who live in Newport News, with one count of voter fraud, spokeswoman Cpl. Allison Good said. Anthony House, 22, was charged with four counts of voter fraud.

The three worked for a nonprofit group, Community Voters Project, hired to sign up voters. Employees were required to meet a daily quota of completed applications, Good said.

Information on at least 60 forms has been questioned by officials.

“I encourage people to take voter registration applications seriously,” said Elisa J. Long, general registrar in Norfolk. “Some people treat it like registering to win a car at Wal-Mart.”

“They are legal documents – you can be prosecuted for mishandling them.”

Voter fraud is a felony, and a conviction carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine.

Long said some of the irregularities spotted so far in Norfolk include multiple applications under a single name, applications taken over the phone and applications filled out and signed by someone other than the named registrant.

She said the applications under investigation in Norfolk were also collected by the Community Voters Project.

Frederick said voter registration fraud undermines democratic election principles.

He said the three people charged in Hampton were working for a “front group for a number of left-wing causes.” But Frederick denied any political motivation in calling for an investigation.

“All we’re doing, again, is to try to ensure the integrity of the process,” Frederick said.

Democrat state party chairman C. Richard “Dickie” Cranwell said Virginia does not have widespread voter fraud problems.

“Virginia has had a long, long tradition of a pristine election process,” he said, adding that those who suggest otherwise are “puffing political wares.”

Kaine and McDonnell representatives said the appropriate authorities – the State Board of Elections and local prosecutors – are handling the ongoing investigations.

An alert registrar in Hampton first noticed the discrepancies that were traced back to the three individuals facing charges, State Board of Elections Secretary Mary Rodrigues said.

“The system worked,” she said. “The safeguards are in place.”

Frederick also expressed concern that registration fraud could expose victims to identity theft. The forms require a Social Security number, birth date and address.

“People must exercise extreme caution when putting their private information into the hands of a stranger, for obvious reasons,” he said.

Staff writers Julian Walker and Cindy Clayton contributed to this story.

Debbie Messina, (757) 446-2588, debbie.messina@pilotonline.com