Former Prince William top election official indicted on corruption charges

Updated 11 a.m. Thursday, September 8 — Michele White, the former Prince William County Voter Registrar, faces fraud charges in multiple incidents during the November 2020 General Election, court documents state.

The county’s current voter registrar found irregularities in the 2020 General Election, prompting the investigation.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares handed down the charges today by a grand jury in Manassas. According to the indictment, White neglected her duty as an election officer. Between November 3 and November 2020, she made a false statement, and between August 1 and December 31, 2020, she again neglected her duties, the indictment states.

The Attorney General declined to comment due to the ongoing nature of the investigation. In April 2022, Virginia’s State Board of Elections unanimously voted to ask the Attorney General to investigate “irregularities or deviations from administration procedures during in Prince William County during the 2020 General Election,” according to Board of Elections meeting minutes.

White came to Prince William County in February 2015 to work in the Office of Elections, overseeing ballot counting and voter registration. She quietly left the office in April 2021. Phillip Campbell, the former Prince William County Board of Supervisors Clerk, came out of retirement to manage the office on an interim basis.

Eric Olsen, the county’s current voter registrar, took the reins in November 2021, following the General Election. Olsen tells Potomac Local News White’s actions did not affect the election’s outcome and that he reported the discrepancies to the State Board of Elections, prompting the investigation.

“In 2022, the Electoral Board and new Director of Elections have built an entirely new leadership team that is dedicated to fair and accurate elections. Many improvements and best practices have been adopted to ensure a safe and transparent voting experience for the voters of Prince William County,” Olsen told Potomac Local News.

He declined to elaborate on the alleged discrepancies.

“Our members are pleased to see Virginia’s attorney general, Jason Miyares, taking strong actions to root out corruption and gross negligence in public office. The decisiveness of the Attorney General in prosecuting this case should send a strong warning that Virginia, under the leadership of Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Miyares, takes election integrity seriously. They will ensure that the 2022 or 2023 elections are fair,” states Prince William County Republican Committee Chairman Denny Daugherty.

Under White’s tenure, Prince William County doubled the number of absentee in-person voting locations during the 2020 General Election, which saw Joseph R. Biden defeat Donald J. Trump.

Not only were the election results contested in states like Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, but it was also the first year Virginia allowed voters to vote absentee in person for 45 days leading up to Election Day.

The news of White’s indictment comes on the same day Virginia State Senator Amanda Chase (R-Chesterfield) called on Gov. Glenn Youngkin to mandate the state elections office use only paper ballots when voters head to the polls to choose congressional representatives in November.