Fresno election officials investigating claims of voter fraud ahead of midterms

Fresno, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – With election day just eight days away, the Fresno County clerk’s office is warning against voter intimidation and fraud.

Local election officials are rolling out plans to crack down on voter intimidation and ballot fraud ahead of the midterms. “We do have several cases that we’re investigating right now in conjunction with the Fresno County sheriff and the Fresno County DHS public integrity unit,” says Fresno County Clerk James Kus.

The Sheriff’s office is in charge of investigating claims of ballot fraud or intimidation, then the District Attorney’s office would decide if there is enough evidence to prosecute.

“That could be something as simple as photographing a voter which is illegal in California whether they’re voting at a vote center or dropping off a ballot at a drop box. It could be yelling at a voter or even talking with a voter you vote,” says Kus. Officials are already seeing that happening locally.

“We do have situations where we are currently investigating and have investigated in the past where someone has returned a vote by mail envelope, vote by mail ballot for oftentimes someone else in their own families.”

66 dropboxes are available throughout the county, but Kus says even taking a picture at these dropboxes is punishable by law.

“Folks are getting maybe a little too aggressive or maybe taking photographs at one of our drop boxes, which as I mentioned earlier, is not allowed under California law.”

52 voting centers will be open Saturday to Tuesday from 7 am to 8 pm. Your ballot must be dropped off by 8 pm on Election Day.

Comments are closed.