A few days ago, I wrote a diary about a phony flier that was being distributed in Hampton Roads. I wasn't alone. Granny Doc also wrote about it and the flier made its way to Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person in the World" segment and was also mentioned on the Rachel Maddow show.
The source of the flier has been identified.
This is good news, right?
Wrong.
The Virginia Pilot is reporting that the incident was a "joke that got out of control."
A joke. Really?
Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, added that charges will not be filed in the matter.
They have to be kidding, right? Unfortunately no. There will be no charges filed for the perpetrator of this hoax.
This flier made its rounds in an area that is being hotly contested by both John McCain and Barack Obama:
Flier sightings had been reported in Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach early last week; later in the week, State Police officials confirmed that it was also being distributed via e-mail.
I live here and I can tell you that if a Democrat had committed this crime, the Republicans would be shouting from the rooftops for the person's head.
But this whole incident will be swept under the rug:
At a press briefing this morning, State Board of Elections Secretary Nancy Rodrigues described the flier as a joke gone awry.
This is really frustrating to me because unless these crimes are punished, we will see this again and again. We have laws in place for situations such as this but apparently they don't need to be enforced:
While distribution of false information to voters is a Class 1 misdemeanor in Virginia, State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller today said charges will not be filed against the perpetrator.
I'll be writing my elected officials about this. I don't hold a lot of hope for anything happening but I cannot sit idly by and let this unfold without raising my voice against it. For too long, I feel, Democrats have done so and nothing has changed. Perhaps with a President Obama in office, who actually has a spine of steel, these things will no longer be discounted as a "joke."
Update: Here is the contact information for the Virginia State Board of Elections
If you feel your voting rights have been violated or that you may have witnessed an election law being broken Immediately contact one of the following: Your Local Voter Registration Office
The State Board Of Elections
1-800-552-9745 or
info@sbe.virginia.gov