Veteran Prosecutors Named as District Election Officers
| U.S. Attorney’s Office October 27, 2010 |
SACRAMENTO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that he has named two veteran prosecutors, Assistant United States Attorneys Yoshinori H.T. Himel and Stanley A. Boone, to serve as District Election Officers (DEOs) for the Eastern District of California. This is a part of the Department of Justice’s commitment to ensure that all qualified voters have the opportunity to cast their ballots and have their votes counted, without incidence of discrimination, intimidation, or fraud. DEOs are responsible for overseeing potential election crime matters in their districts and coordinating with the department’s election crime experts in Washington, D.C.
On Nov. 2, 2010, the DEOs will work with the Civil Rights Division and the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, along with the FBI, to ensure that complaints from the public involving possible voter fraud are handled appropriately and expeditiously.
Specifically:
- The Civil Rights Division staff will be available at special toll-free numbers to receive complaints related to ballot access (1-800-253-3931) (TTY line 1-877-267-8971). In addition, individuals can also report complaints, problems, or concerns related to voting via the Internet. Forms may be submitted through a link on the department’s web page: www.justice.gov.
- The DEOs, federal prosecutors within the Public Integrity Section, FBI officials at headquarters in Washington, D.C., and special agents serving as Election Crime Coordinators in the FBI’s 56 field offices will be on duty while polls are open to receive complaints from the public and take appropriate action.
- Voter fraud complaints may be directed to the FBI office, the Public Integrity Section (202-514-1412), or one of the DEO’s (916-554-2700 for Mr. Himel, and 559-497-4000 for Mr. Boone). A list of U.S. Attorneys’ Office can be found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/ and a list of FBI offices can be found at: www.fbi.gov.
United States Attorney Wagner said, “Protecting the right to vote and combating voter fraud are essential to maintaining the confidence of all Americans in our system of government, and our office will work diligently in this regard.”