Virginia attorney general establishes election integrity unit

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is establishing a new election integrity unit to safeguard the state from voter fraud and other election improprieties.

The unit will have over 20 attorneys and investigators. It will collaborate with the state’s Department of Elections as well as local officials to help ensure robust measures are in place to ensure election laws are being applied “ethically,” the Attorney General’s Office announced Friday.

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“I pledged during the 2021 campaign to work to increase transparency and strengthen confidence in our state elections. It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat. The Election Integrity Unit will work to help to restore confidence in our democratic process in the commonwealth,” Miyares said in a press release.

Virginia’s election system is divided between 133 local electoral boards, general registrars, and the bipartisan State Board of Elections. Virginia law grants the attorney general “full authority to do whatever is necessary or appropriate to enforce the election laws or prosecute violations thereof,” Miyares said.

“The purpose of the unit is to provide advice, support, and resources to ensure that Virginia election law continues to be applied in a uniform manner, and increase confidence in our state elections,” a press release for the unit added.

The election unit bares resemblance to other initiatives taken in states run by Republicans to bolster election integrity provisions. In Florida, for example, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed for and helped establish a new Office of Election Crimes and Security, which recently brought voter fraud charges forward against 20 people.

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Voter fraud has become a dominant issue for many Republicans in the wake of the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump peddled heavily disputed assertions that he lost his election due to rampant fraud and malfeasance. Numerous election officials, including Republicans such as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, have repudiated his claims.

Miyares became the first Hispanic and Cuban American to win the attorney general race in Virginia in 2021, a year in which Republicans also cruised to breakthrough victories in the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s races.