VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — There’s new information on the investigation into questionable signatures on petitions to get an independent candidate on the ballot in the Second Congressional District race. The details might surprise voters.
13News Now uncovered the citizens deciding who will represent them in Congress, might not have answers as to what happened before they cast their votes.
Those answers would tell voters if anyone actually broke the law in this controversy. The special prosecutor appointed to investigate the potential violations said he does not expect to complete his investigation before Election Day.
Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Don Caldwell couldn't say much else about his investigation into how Shaun Brown's name got on the ballot, but he did confirm it has at least started.
“Not knowing before Election Day is really frustrating to voters,” 13News Now Political Analyst Quentin Kidd said.
Caldwell explained he's enlisted the help of Virginia State Police, which is standard protocol in these types of examinations. They often take months to complete.
“This particular scandal has become the central issue locally in this election, so I think a lot of voters would like to have some conclusion to this,” Kidd explained.
The special prosecutor must determine if any laws were broken, as forged signatures appeared on petitions to get Brown on the ballot. Among those possible are violations of election law and forgery.
Kidd believes the cloud of this controversy hanging over Election Day means different things for the campaigns.
For the Democrats...
“It would be nice if Elaine Luria and her supporters could have conclusion, if that conclusion is to say that her opponent did something wrong,” Kidd analyzed.
For the Republican Incumbent, whose staffers collected some of the signatures in question --
“If, in fact, Scott Taylor has done nothing wrong and his campaign volunteers and consultants have done nothing wrong, it would be good for them to have that out before the election,” Kidd added.
According to Kidd, this will be a recurring theme for the duration of this race.
“The best thing voters can do is just use their best judgment,” he advised.
We’ve learned this could affect voter turnout. It may cause some people to simply not vote in this mid-term race because they aren't sure of exactly what happened and who to believe.
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