Va. Election Board ‘frustrated’ with Prince William voter confusion, fines former Democratic Chairman

RICHMOND — Virginia’s Electoral Board on Friday imposed a $500 fine on former Prince William County Democratic Chairman Harry Wiggins.

It is the maximum civil penalty the Board can impose on Wiggins, who is accused of failing to properly file a statement of organization for a political action committee in favor of Stanley Bender, an independent candidate who ran for Prince William County School Board Chairman At-large on Nov. 6, 2018.

Virginia Department of Elections Commissioner Christopher E. “Chris” Piper said Wiggins failed to obtain a signed form granting permission from Bender for the creation of the PAC, required to be included in the organization papers. Bender placed third in a three-way contest with the GOP-endorsed Alyson Satterwhite, and the winner Dr. Babur Lateef, who was endorsed by Democrats.

That is the stiffest penalty the Board of Elections may impose, and now it’s up to Virginia Commonwealth Attorney Mark Herring, who is investigating the case, to decide if criminal charges would be brought against Wiggins, Piper said.

The fine was welcomed news to more than 20 Prince William County residents who packed half of Senate Room 3 in the State Capitol in Richmond on Friday demanding the Board take action at its regularly scheduled meeting. They all supported Satterwhite, who is the Gainesville District School Board member, who sat in the second row at Friday’s meeting.

“She was a splendid candidate and she deserved to win,” Prince William County Republican Chairman Bill Card told the Board, during his second appearance in front of the Board since Election Day. “The most egregous crime in all of this is the assault on the [election] process. You don’t want dangerous, deceitful people in Virginia to come in and try to influence elections.”

Republicans argue the creation of the PAC, and more importantly, the bright red signs that were erected overnight at 37 polling places around the county on Election Day stating “Republicans for Bender” worked to confuse and ultimately disenfranchised voters by making them think the GOP had endorsed Bender when, in fact, it hadn’t. School Board seats are non-partisan but are frequently endorsed by the parties.

“This happened in the dark of night,” said Card, who charges Wiggins had help putting up the signs. “We usually put up signs in public places over the course of an election and we encountered no one who was putting up these signs.”

The Virginia State Board of Elections requested Wiggins to appear at the hearing. Woodbridge Attorney Paul Nichols, who in a letter to the State Board claimed to represent Wiggins, also did not appear.

“We’ve not heard from either one,” said Piper.

Satterwhite was silent during Friday’s hearing, but Card and others were vocal. They said the signs represent a larger conspiracy in Prince William to confuse voters and said Wiggins went to some expense to have the signs professionally produced.

Card told the Board there is a pattern of misleading election signs in Prince William County dating back to 2013 when signs appeared incorrectly linking then-gubernatorial Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli and Delegate Richard Anderson to the TEA Party.

State Board of Elections Chairman James B. Alcorn thanked card for bringing a stack of the “Republicans for Bender” signs and others to present as examples. “It makes me understand this is a series of actions and the material you brought really put this into context,” he said.

Vice Chair Clara Belle Wheeler concurred with the Satterwhite supporters who spoke and called the problem of voter confusion widespread. “Is $500 all we can do?… This was egregious. This is a willful attempt to confuse voters,” she said.

The State Board of Elections cannot overturn the election results, only the court may do so. “The law is very limited in this area, and the State Board of Elections does not investigate,” he said.

Piper admitted that Wiggins was improperly mailed a form letter from his office confirming the recognition of the PAC on Oct. 24. That letter shouldn’t have been sent, and he called the error a “staff issue” that is being addressed internally. He declined to comment on any potential recourse for his staff.

“I agree with you,” Piper told Belle Wheeler during the hearing. “I’m frustrated.”

Had things been handled properly, the statement of organization for “Republicans for Bender” would have still been in pending status on Election Day and not officially recognized, Piper said.

While no longer Chairman, current Prince William Democratic Chairman Don Shaw last month told Potomac Local Wiggins still has a non-voting role in the organization.