District Election Officers Support Election Integrity and Voter Protection On Election Day

Baltimore, Maryland – Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced, today, that Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip Motsay and Joseph Wenner are leading the District’s efforts to implement the Department of Justice’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming general election. 

The attorneys have been appointed to serve as the District Election Officers for the District of Maryland and, in that capacity, are responsible for overseeing the District’s handling of Election Day complaints — such as election fraud, voting rights concerns, threats of violence to election officials or staff, and other matters affecting the integrity and security of the electoral process— in consultation with the DOJ in Washington, DC.  Additionally, the FBI is deploying special agents available from each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on Election Day.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying or selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes, and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.  It also provides important protections to ensure voters can cast their ballots free from intimidation, coercion, or other unlawful interference.  

“Voting is a hallmark of our democracy and an essential right in our State and throughout our nation,” Hayes said. “Just as important is ensuring the integrity, security, and fairness of the electoral process.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to protecting the rights of eligible voters, safeguarding election officials and poll workers, and investigating and prosecuting election fraud, intimidation, threats, or other unlawful conduct that undermines public confidence in our elections. We will prosecute individuals who intrude on the voting process to the fullest extent of the law.”

The DOJ’s role is critical 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 is responsible for addressing these violations wherever they occur.  A longstanding initiative, the Department’s 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.

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/.   The local FBI field office can be reached at 410-265-8080.

Protecting the right to vote, prosecuting election fraud, and securing our elections are all essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our democratic system of government. The Department encourages anyone with information regarding these concerns to contact the appropriate authorities.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md. 

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