'Voter deception'? AG sends cease-and-desist letter to NY election activists. What to know
The New York Attorney General's Office warned a self-described voting watchdog group that it may have broken the law after complaints emerged accusing the group's volunteers of impersonating government officials and intimidating voters.
In a cease-and-desist letter to New York Citizens Audit Civic Fund, the Attorney General's Office said it has reviewed reports alleging that the group's volunteers "confronted voters across the state at their homes, falsely claimed to be Board of Elections officials, and falsely accused voters of committing felony voter fraud."
"These allegations, if true, could constitute unlawful voter deception under New York state law and unlawful voter intimidation under both state and federal law," the letter continued.
The letter instructed the group to stop any "ongoing or contemplated voter deception and intimidation efforts," including volunteers falsely represent themselves as government officials or falsely accusing voters of voter fraud.
The attorney general's letter requested New York Citizens Audit turn over its communications, training and campaign literature by Oct. 2.
"Voter deception and intimidation have no place in New York, and the OAG will use every tool at its disposal to protect New York voters," the letter noted.
In a statement, Marly Hornik, the group's executive director, said the attorney general's allegations were "made without any factual evidence."
"NYCA has seen no evidence of the accusations, despite prior board of elections inquiries. The whole thing has developed from a purposeful board of elections attempt to create public hysteria about unidentified canvassers," Hornik added. "It all sounds like a Soviet-era propaganda move to discredit and then attack NYCA."
She further said she learned of the cease-and-desist letter for the first time through a press inquiry, not from having received the letter.
Elections group raises alarm in NY: NY election officials sound alarm about activists knocking on doors to police voting rolls
What is the background of New York Citizens Audit group?
New York Citizens Audit describes itself as "dedicated to restoring and maintaining the essential, founding American principle of sovereignty through honest, provable elections in New York and across the nation." A letter from Hornik posted to the group's website also rails against a host of social issues, including "the transformation of our bountiful farmland into soy fields."
What are the complaints against the group's conduct in NY?
For weeks, complaints have arisen from voters around New York state about individuals appearing at their doorstep raising questions about their residency.
One Glens Falls resident told officials that two women informed her she had committed a felony by having multiple voter registrations. The discrepancy was actually caused by delayed updates to the state's records system.
The cease-and-desist letter noted there has been "no evidence that any of the complainants committed voter fraud or any other crime."
In late August, Raymond J. Riley III, the co-executive director of the state Board of Elections, said the board is "extremely alarmed by these actions."
"These individuals are impersonating government officials in an effort to intimidate voters based on inaccurate and misleading information,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: AG warns NY Citizens Audit to stop alleged voter deception
