LEXINGTON, S.C. — Election day is here and with that law enforcement on the federal and local levels are preparing to ensure votes are protected.
“I would just encourage the citizens, if they see something, call an authority and it will make its way to us for better coordination across law enforcement,” Steven Jensen, the FBI Special Agent in charge at the Columbia field office, said.
Jensen says there are three crime categories the FBI will investigate.
“Allegations of federal violations of voter and ballot fraud, civil rights violations and campaign finance offenses. We do not investigate crimes or violations of laws established by local election bodies or state governments who have the responsibility to ensure election process,” he said.
Starting Monday FBI agents across the country and at the headquarters in Washington DC, established a 24/7 command post. They will be staffed with agents, intelligence analysts, data analysts, and other law enforcement partners. They're also looking for issues of voter fraud or election worker threats.
“Throughout day, throughout tomorrow and through Wednesday, we'll have multiple law enforcement partners and intelligence agency partners coming through the command post to get a national picture of the status of threats against the election if they exist, actions that are taken and information sharing for better posture across the state,” Jensen said.
The FBI encourages any voter who sees something that violates the law to report it immediately.
“Any tip, where somebody feels that there was intimidation, voter suppression or interference with their right to vote, I would encourage them to report that to again, 1-800-CALL-FBI or to the local authorities. Local authorities are going to be in a better position to respond quickly and then share information with us for further investigation,” Jensen said.
If you want to report crimes to the local FBI office directly, you can do so by calling 803-551-4200.
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