Voter Registration Fraud Involving Strategic Allied Consulting/Pinpoint

PRESS RELEASE from Virginia State Board of Elections
October 23, 2012

UPDATE: STATE BOARD COOPERATING WITH LOCAL AUTHORITIES ON INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPERLY DISCARDED REGISTRATION APPLICATIONS

RICHMOND, VA -- The Secretary of the State Board of Elections, Donald Palmer states: “The State Board of Elections is cooperating with the ongoing investigation and prosecution of the alleged perpetrator by the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney, respectively. Pursuant to state law, violations of election laws are investigated and prosecuted at the local level unless additional support or resources from the Attorney General are indicated.

At this time, the Commonwealth’s Attorney has not indicated a need for assistance on the state level.”

With the in-person absentee voting period and General Election preparations ongoing, the agency will continue to monitor the situation while local law enforcement officials continue their prosecution of the alleged perpetrator. Last week, the Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office moved quickly and arrested and charged the alleged perpetrator and the Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney is proceeding with the prosecution of the defendant. The Rockingham County Sheriff’s Office and Commonwealth’s Attorney are working together to ensure the matter is thoroughly investigated. State Board of Elections staff has communicated with the local law enforcement authorities and have requested the State Board be made aware of any facts that lead investigators to conclude that this was more than an isolated incident.

The staff of the State Board of Elections has coordinated with the relevant local general registrars to ensure that any eligible Virginians impacted by this incident were timely registered to vote.

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PRESS RELEASE from Office of Congressman Jim Moran
October 23, 2012

Virginia Lawmakers Ask Justice Department to Investigate Voter Registration Fraud
Concerned Harrisonburg case part of wider effort to thwart voters’ rights

Washington, DC – Congressmen Jim Moran (VA-08), Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Gerry Connolly (VA-11) today sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder calling on the Department of Justice to conduct a multi-state investigation of voter registration fraud connected to Strategic Allied Consulting and its subsidiary Pinpoint. The letter follows voter fraud allegations in three states and the October 18 arrest of Pinpoint employee Colin Small in Harrisonburg, Virginia on 13 counts of voter registration fraud.

“The number of allegations in a multitude of locations would suggest something more than the isolated acts of “a few bad apples,” the lawmakers wrote. “We respectfully request the Justice Department to assume the responsibility and conduct its own investigation, given the mounting evidence that one company may have been engaged in a similar multi-state effort to commit voter registration fraud.”

Strategic Allied Consulting, currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is facing more than 200 allegations of voter registration fraud including the registration of dead people. These coordinated attempts to destroy or tamper with voter registration forms threaten the integrity of the electoral process.

The lawmakers continued: “While the Republican National Committee and five state committees have severed their relationship with Strategic Allied Consulting, we are concerned that the alleged illegal practices may be continuing under its subsidiary Pinpoint.”

Pinpoint operates throughout Virginia including the Counties of Rockingham, Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun and the Cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. The Commonwealth’s voting process is under national spotlight given its important role in this year’s election.

Full text of the letter follows:

October 23, 2012

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
900 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

Attorney General Holder,

We are writing today to urge the Department of Justice to conduct a multi-state investigation to determine if a pattern of voting registration irregularities related to Strategic Allied Consulting are connected and constitute a broader conspiracy of voter registration fraud.   

Our inquiry is prompted by the recent media reports that an employee of Pinpoint, a subsidiary of Strategic Allied Consulting, was charged in Rockingham County, Virginia with 13 counts of destruction of voter registration applications, disclosure of voter registration information, and obstruction of justice. We note that in addition to its Rockingham County operation, Pinpoint is reportedly operating in at least five other jurisdictions in Virginia:  Chesapeake City, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, and Virginia Beach. We also note that prior to drawing a paycheck from Pinpoint, the charged individual was under the direct employ of Strategic Allied Consulting.  

As you are aware, Strategic Allied Consulting is currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and faces more than 200 allegations of voter registration fraud including registration of the deceased. Allegations of voter registration fraud by Strategic Allied Consulting also have been raised in Arizona and Colorado. The number of allegations in a multitude of locations would seem to suggest something more than the isolated acts of “a few bad apples.”    

While the Republican National Committee and five state committees have severed their relationship with Strategic Allied Consulting, we are concerned that the alleged illegal practices may be continuing under its subsidiary Pinpoint. We respectfully request the Justice Department to assume the responsibility and conduct its own investigation, given the mounting evidence that one company may have been engaged in a similar multi-state effort to commit voter registration fraud. We believe the circumstances warrant a broader federal review.

We look forward to your favorable response.  

Sincerely,

James P. Moran
Gerry Connolly
Robert C. Scott

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PRESS RELEASE from the DNC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 21, 2012

Contact: DNC Press

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Statement on RNC’s Continued Ties to GOP Firm with History of Voter Registration Fraud

Washington, DC – The Republican National Committee’s September FEC report, filed on Friday, revealed that despite their public “zero tolerance” policy, the RNC paid GOP consultant Nathan Sproul’s Strategic Allied Consulting $416,000 to register voters.   The firm or its former employees are under investigation on suspicions of voter registration fraud in several states.
 
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement in response to the RNC’s continued relationship with Strategic Allied Consulting:
 
“Despite their public renunciation of Strategic Allied Consulting, the Republican National Committee did not actually break ties with this sketchy firm. The RNC’s continued ties to this company, despite revelations of its lengthy history of being accused of voter registration fraud and whose activities on behalf of the RNC in my home state of Florida this cycle are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation, show a complete lack of willingness to protect the fundamental right to vote. 
 
“The RNC’s decision to continue to employ a consulting firm with a well-known history of registration fraud and other election-related irregularities is unconscionable, and it is a clear breach of public trust.
 
“Unfortunately, this is nothing new. Firms led by Sproul have long been associated with allegations of election fraud – including destroying Democratic voter registrations as far back as 2004.  Yet RNC Chairman Reince Priebus continues to hire Sproul, showing his disdain for an honest electoral process.
 
“These allegations undermine our free and open elections. It’s clear that Republicans cannot be trusted with voter registrations at any point in the process.  The Democratic Party will call out these deceptive practices at every turn and continue to ensure elections are accessible and secure.”
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For Immediate Release
October 19, 2012
 
Contact: DNC Press

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Republican Party Field Director’s Arrest for Throwing Voter Registration Forms into a Dumpster in Virginia is Only the Latest Revelation in GOP’s Growing Voter Registration Fraud Scandal

Washington, DC – Yesterday, Republican Party field director Colin Small was arrested in Virginia on charges of committing voter registration fraud.  Small, who was part of a broader swing-state operation financed by the RNC, was first hired by Strategic Allied Consulting – a firm run by GOP consultant Nathan Sproul, who has a lengthy history of being accused of voter registration fraud and whose activities on behalf of the RNC in Florida this cycle are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.
 
In response to yesterday’s revelation – part of a growing voter registration fraud scandal that has embroiled the RNC – DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement:
 
“Over the course of this election cycle, the Republican National Committee has now been implicated or alleged to have been involved in voter registration fraud in no fewer than three states: Virginia, Colorado and my home state of Florida.  It’s not hard to connect the dots here – each of these cases is directly connected to Chair Reince Priebus, who as Chair of the RNC hired a firm headed by Nathan Sproul, a longtime Republican consultant with a known history of alleged voter registration fraud.
 
“But Sproul’s checkered past hasn’t affected his success.  In 2008, it didn’t stop then-Wisconsin GOP Chair Reince Priebus from hiring Sproul to run his absentee ballot walk program.  It didn’t stop the Romney campaign from paying $80,000 to a separate Sproul-run firm.  It certainly didn’t prevent Karl Rove’s American Crossroads PAC from paying nearly $1 million to Sproul’s firms for voter outreach.  And it has not stopped the RNC from directing millions to Sproul’s firm since Reince Priebus became Chair last year.  It should come as no surprise, then, that Colin Small – the Republican Party field director arrested yesterday for dumping voter registration forms in the trash – was working under the supervision of RNC officials and was first hired by a Sproul-run firm.
 
“The fact that these allegations aren’t surprising does not make them any less reprehensible.  What we have seen throughout this cycle is a concerted effort by the RNC and its allies to win the game by rigging it altogether.  They have repeatedly violated the trust of the American people and launched one attack after another on the fundamental right to vote – and it’s a fight they will continue to lose.  Just as we have for decades, the Democratic Party will continue to push back on these shameful tactics and keep working to ensure that all eligible Americans are able to make their voice heard in this and future elections.”
 
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For Immediate Release
September 28, 2012
 
Contact: DNC Press
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s Statement on RNC’s Ties to GOP Firm with History of Voter Registration Fraud

Washington, DC – Yesterday, NBC reported that the Republican National Committee and state Republican parties hired Strategic Allied Consulting, a firm run by GOP consultant Nathan Sproul, to register voters in the key battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada, and Virginia.  That firm is now under investigation by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office on suspicions of voter registration fraud after more than 100 voter registrations with “similar looking signatures” and seemingly phony addresses were submitted to election authorities.  Additionally, there are reports of at least four other Florida counties that have received hundreds of potentially fraudulent registration forms from the firm. 
 
Several news outlets report that Republicans have already paid the firm at least $3 million this year, and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney reportedly has paid a separate Sproul-run firm $80,000 for consulting services in his current bid for the White House.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement in response to the allegations:
 
“For decades, Democrats have worked to protect the fundamental right to vote and ensure that our elections are open, accessible and secure.  Recent actions by the Republican National Committee have demonstrated that their values are fundamentally different.  The RNC’s decision to hire a consulting firm with a well-known history of registration fraud and other election-related irregularities is unconscionable, and it is a clear breach of public trust.
 
“But this incident should come as no surprise: firms led by Sproul have long been associated with allegations of election fraud – including destroying Democratic voter registrations as far back as 2004.  What is shocking is that the RNC would employ any such firm with this publicly tainted history.  But, it gets worse.  According to Sproul, the RNC asked him to create Strategic Allied Consulting in order to hide this checkered past.
 
“This is only the latest revelation of the RNC’s dirty tricks to skew the election in their favor.  Over the last year, we saw Republicans across the country – and especially in my home state of Florida – attempt to make it harder to vote through cuts to early voting and flawed voter purges that knocked eligible Americans off the voting rolls, an effort that continues to this day.  Only recently did Florida’s Republican Secretary of State finally agree to fully restore voting rights for thousands of eligible registrants who were unfairly and improperly targeted for purging.
 
“It’s clear that Republicans cannot be trusted with voter registrations at any point in the process.  Florida’s voters – and all eligible Americans – deserve so much better.”
 
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