The Bedford County Registrar and a Bedford County supervisor are concerned about electoral fraud after a photo of a letter began circulating on social media this week asking residents to cast their vote in the Republican primary June 16 instead of its correct date on June 13.
On Sunday, the Bedford First Facebook page posted a photo of a letter providing incorrect information about the June 13 primary election.
The letter incorrectly states the date of the primary is June 16 three times. The News & Advance was unable to obtain a physical copy of the letter.
It is unclear who typed the letter.
Barbara Gunter, Bedford County registrar, said Wednesday she is concerned about the letter.
“I am concerned any time any party puts out misinformation,” she said. “This is not the first time this has happened.”
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She said there is nothing her department can do other than continue to inform the public of the correct date of June 13.
She said she has not seen the document but was made aware of it by Bedford County Supervisor John Sharp, who is running for his fourth term on the board against Bedford County School Board Chairman Gary Hostutler.
John Messier, a moderator for Bedford First, said he did not take the photo of the letter but did post it to the Bedford First page.
“Public service announcement for Bedford County District 4 citizens: the republican primary is Tuesday, June 13, 2017. It is not the date listed on the letter you received. It's either a gross error or a deliberate attempt,” his post reads on Bedford First.
Messier said he was notified about the letter by Hostutler, whose neighbor alerted him about the letter Saturday morning.
Hostutler said he took the photo of the letter and sent it to Messier. Messier then posted it to the Bedford First Facebook page.
Hostutler said the letter is disappointing.
“It’s ridiculous that someone would stoop to that level and create a letter like that that is very negative and misleading,” Hostutler said.
Messier, who said he hasn’t heard of anyone else receiving the letter, wanted to make a public service announcement on his page to notify residents of the incorrect date.
“I wanted people to know the date was wrong,” he said. “I believe it’s unlawful. If it’s found out who did it, it’s certainly up to authorities to take care of it. The way we look at it, we’re gonna set the record straight about the date.”
The letter, dated May 13, is addressed to District 4 neighbors in the Forest area and claims to be from the “John Sharp Election Committee.”
“It’s clearly not from my campaign,” Sharp said Wednesday. He said he found out late Sunday night about the letter from the Bedford First Facebook page, which he follows.
Wes Nance, Bedford County commonwealth’s attorney, confirmed his office received a complaint from Sharp on Tuesday of alleged electoral fraud.
The complaint has been sent to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, he said.
“If [the sheriff’s office] has any concerns, they can take it to the Virginia State Police or they can certainly investigate it themselves,” he said.
He said the sheriff’s office will be working to determine the origin of the letter, who received the letter, who wrote the letter and whether the incorrect date was a purposeful disinformation tactic or a typographical error, Nance said.
He said if it was a purposeful disinformation tactic, the author of the letter could face a class 1 misdemeanor in violation of communication of false information to a registered voter.
Contact Rachael Smith at (434) 385-5482 or rsmith@newsadvance.com.