RICHMOND, Va. — Tuesday, the Virginia NAACP released the findings of a public records request related to the state's Election Integrity Unit at the Office of the Attorney General.
The Virginia NAACP has been vocal about their concerns about the need for an Election Integrity Unit.
"Since its conception, very little has been publicly disclosed about the operations and functions of this unit or why in fact the Attorney General believes the unit was necessary," the groups said.
Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the creation of the Election Integrity Unit in Sept. 2022. At the time, Miyares' office said, "This unit will provide legal advice to the Department of Elections, investigate and prosecute violations of Virginia election law, work with the election community throughout the year to ensure uniformity and legality in application of election laws, and work with law enforcement to ensure legality and purity in elections. The purpose of the unit is to provide advice, support, and resources to ensure that Virginia election law continues to be applied in a uniform manner, and increase confidence in our state elections."
The Virginia NAACP submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to Miyares' office, requesting the public records related to the Election Integrity Unit. The group said they were looking for "any evidence of voter fraud or 'election cheating' it was created to combat." The NAACP said in the 200 pages of records they received from the request, there were no records regarding the staffing, supervision or reporting structure for the unit. The group claims there were no records of the approval process for investigations or governing documents for the unit, or statutes the unit is tasked with enforcing.
The Virginia NAACP also stated their request revealed no convictions for voter fraud crimes in Virginia since 2008.
In response to Tuesday's statements by the Virginia NAACP, a spokesperson for AG Miyares said the list of claims the NAACP made Tuesday is "incorrect" and is addressed in a memo from Chief Deputy Attorney General Chuck Slemp.
"Two things are clear from these records, or the lack thereof. First, this 'Election Integrity Unit' lacks both staff and substance. Second, there is no significant issue with voter fraud or 'election cheating' in Virginia that warrants any special unit," the Virginia NAACP said.
In response, Victoria LaCivita, a spokesperson for AG Miyares said, "It's obvious the NAACP is disappointed that our Election Integrity Unit is not a partisan masterminded witch hunt designed to prevent Virginians from exercising the very right that the Attorney General's family fled communism for."
"As we said earlier this month, the Virginia NAACP is making groundless attacks that are offensive, ridiculous and without a single shred of proof. Due to the NAACP's inappropriate and baseless attack, we continue to expect an apology on behalf of the hundreds of men and women at the Office of the Attorney General who work every day protecting the rights and freedoms of all Virginians," LaCivita said.
The Virginia NAACP said, "We agree with the Attorney General that it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat in Virginia. This Unit doesn't make it easier for anyone to vote, and there is no evidence of any significant election cheating in Virginia. So the Virginia NAACP again calls on Attorney General Jason Miyares to disband this so-called 'Election Integrity Unit.'"
Attorney General Miyares' office said the creation of the Election Integrity Unit was a campaign promise Miyares made in 2021 "because Virginians expressed concerns to him about our elections as he traveled across the Commonwealth." The office said, "The Election Integrity Unit was not created because of a belief that there is widespread election fraud in Virginia - this is a left-wing lie that the Democratic Party of Virginia has consistently pushed. Attorney General Miyares has repeatedly affirmed that there is no evidence of widespread election fraud in Virginia."
