Republican Senate candidate from Nevada Sharron Angle has accused her opponent, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, of committing voter fraud by offering free food to voters. And Reid’s campaign has shot back, accusing Angle’s “goons” of intimidating voters.
In a fundraising letter written by her campaign lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, Angle’s campaign alerts voters to some “very grave news.”
“Harry Reid has been offering free food and, according to other reports, some Democratic allies such as teachers’ unions are offering gift cards in return for a vote for Reid,” claims Mitchell, who is also the co-chair of the Republican National Lawyers Association. “Harry Reid intends to steal this election if he can’t win it outright.”
A spokeswoman for the secretary of state’s office tells TPMmuckraker that the office’s Election Integrity Task Force, which takes and investigates reports of voter fraud, has not received a single report of voter fraud from someone who experienced it personally. (They have, however, taken “lots of calls” from people who’ve heard about it from someone else.)
The Republican Party in Nevada has, however, brought some “discrepancies” to the attention of the secretary of state, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
Angle’s letter apparently refers to an event Reid held last week at a college campus in which he offered students free pizza and encouraged them to vote in the library next door, which is set up as an early voting place. Reid also cast his ballot there.
The Nevada secretary of state, Democrat Ross Miller, responded to Angle’s accusations in an open letter, saying Angle “failed to cite any evidence” of “vote-buying,” except for “reports to their election hotline about representatives of unions.” Miller goes on to say that offering free food for voters doesn’t violate election law, as long as the food is for all voters, regardless of party or candidate.
Angle’s campaign did not immediately return requests for more information about the alleged union reps.
Reid’s campaign has denied any wrongdoing and tried to turn Angle’s allegations back on her, alleging that her campaign’s “goons” committed voter intimidation. These “goons,” according to Reid’s campaign, handed out literature close to polls discouraging people from voting and took photos of voters.
A spokesman for Reid’s campaign declined to provide details or proof of their allegations. The spokesman, Kelly Steele, said only that the campaign has set up a hotline to take reports of potential voter intimidation, is keeping a log of complaints and will “take all reasonable action within the law.”
Again, the secretary of state has not received any complaints from voters experiencing election law violations.
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