U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri Establishes Hotline for Handling Election Fraud and Voting Rights Calls

ST. LOUIS—United States Attorney Richard Callahan today announced that he has appointed assistant United States Attorney John Bodenhausen to serve as the District Election Officer in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day program for the upcoming November 6, 2012 general elections. AUSA Bodenhausen will oversee the handling of all complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in Eastern Missouri and will coordinate with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

Callahan noted that ensuring free and fair elections depends in large part on the cooperation of the American electorate. “It is imperative that those who have specific information about either discrimination or election fraud make that information available immediately to our office, the FBI, or the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department,” United States Attorney Richard Callahan said, “Every eligible citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have their vote counted without it being cancelled because of fraud.” Callahan promised that The Department of Justice would act promptly to protect the integrity of the election process.

In order to respond to complaints of election fraud or voting rights abuses and to ensure that such complaints are directed to the appropriate authorities, Bodenhausen will be on duty and available the entire time the polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on November 6, 2012. He can be reached by the public at the following telephone number: 314/539-7733.

In addition, the FBI will have special agents available in each field office throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The St. Louis office of the FBI can be reached by the public at 314/589-2500.

Further, the state of Missouri has a hotline and website set up for general questions. The hotline number is 800/NOW VOTE (800/669-8683). The website is govotemissouri.com.

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.