NOVEMBER 2006 ELECTION DAY


U. S. Attorney Appoints Assistant U.S. Attorney To Monitor Elections

 

    HOUSTON, TX – United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today that Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Magliolo will lead the efforts of his office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day program for the upcoming November 7, 2006, general elections. 

        Magliolo has been appointed to serve as the District’s Election Officer for an of the Southern District of Texas, and in that capacity responsible for overseeing the district’s handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.  

        On October 8, 2002, Attorney General Ashcroft established a Department-wide Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative to make voting easier and cheating harder.  The two equally important goals of the initiative are to increase the Department’s ability to deter election fraud and discrimination at the polls and to prosecute these offenses whenever and wherever they occur.  It is imperative that in pursuing voter integrity, ballot access is not in any way diminished or harmed. 

        The Department’s long-standing Election Day program furthers the goals of the initiative and is intended to ensure public confidence in the integrity of the election process by providing local points of contact within the Department where the public can report possible election fraud and voting rights violations while the polls are open on election day.  The franchise is the cornerstone of American democracy.  We all must ensure that those who are entitled to the franchise exercise it, while those who seek to corrupt it are brought to justice.

        “Election fraud and voting rights abuses dilute the worth of votes honestly cast and corrupt the essence of our representative form of government,” said United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle.  “As a crime against both the individual and the government, it will be dealt with promptly and aggressively.”

        Most forms of election crime are easily recognized, such as voter bribery, voter intimidation and ballot forgery.  Other forms of election fraud are more subtle.  It is, for example, a federal offense to seek out the elderly, the socially disadvantaged, or the illiterate for the purpose of subjugating their electoral will.  Furthermore, every voter has the right to mark his or her ballot in private, free from the watchful eye of election partisans.

         "The detection of election fraud depends in large part on the watchfulness and  cooperation of the American electorate,” said DeGabrielle.  “Those who have information regarding questionable election practices, or who have observed or have specific information regarding electoral corruption, are asked to immediately contact my office or the FBI.  The cooperation of this country's citizens to protect the sanctity of the ballot box is crucial.  It is also appreciated."    

        In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses on November 7, 2006, and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, United States Attorney DeGabrielle stated that Assistant United States Attorney Magliolo will coordinate the efforts of a number of Assistant United States Attorneys and special agents of the FBI assigned throughout the district while the polls are open on November 7, 2006, to receive any complaints of election fraud. 

        Assistant United States Attorney Magliolo can be reached by the public at (713) 567-9000 from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.  The public may contact the FBI by calling their Houston office at (713) 693-5000. 

        Complaints about ballot access problems or discrimination can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767.                  

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