The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District, which includes Acadiana, has announced what's in place to protect voters from those who would try to intimidate them.
United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced today that Assistant United States Attorneys (AUSAs) Cytheria Jernigan and Karen King will lead the efforts of this office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming November 8, 2022, general election.
AUSAs Jernigan and King have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Western District of Louisiana, and in that capacity are 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.
“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election,” said United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown. “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 important role in deterring and combatting 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 and also 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 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 franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy. 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,” said U.S. Attorney Brown. “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, AUSAs/DEOs Jernigan and King will be on duty in this district while the polls are open. AUSA Jernigan can be reached by the public at our Shreveport office at 318-676-3600 and AUSA King can be reached at our Lafayette office at 337-262-6618.”
For those who may have complaints regarding violations in the Shreveport, Monroe, and Alexandria areas, please contact AUSA Cytheria Jernigan at 318-676-3600.
Those who may have complaints involving violations in the Lafayette or Lake Charles areas, please contact AUSA Karen King at 337-262-6618.
You can also email any complaints to: usalaw.election-fraud@usdoj.gov.
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 the public in Shreveport at 318-861-1890, Monroe at 318-387-0773, Alexandria at 318-443-5097, Lafayette at 337-233- 2164 and Lake Charles at 318-433-6353.
Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by phone at 800-253-3931 or by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov.
United States Attorney Brown added that “ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the assistance of the American electorate. 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, in the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please 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.
For more information about federal elections, please go to the DOJ website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdla/election-fraud and click on the Federal Election Fact Sheet.
