PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — It's all hands on deck for the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office as dozens of prosecutors and investigators work to make sure voters across the city have an Election Day free of drama.
More than 60 assistant district attorneys are part of the city's Election Task Force (ETF), according to Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner. The ETF was activated as polls opened on Tuesday morning and Krasner says several members have been answering calls from polling places and concerned citizens.
"Many of them are available to go out if there are complaints in the community to help investigate them, sometimes to resolve them depending on the situation," said Krasner. "We are not going to tolerate interference with a free, fair, final election here."
Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins says the ETF has been busy investigating misconduct at polling places. "We have gotten a couple of calls of people actually physically getting in the way of the entrance of a polling location and that's not something that's allowed," he said, adding those situations were resolved amicably.
According to ADA Matt Stigler, the ETF is also aware of recent reports of hidden camera filming of Philadelphia election workers. "Criminal violations that interfere with voting, including violations of Pennsylvania's wiretap act and its election interference law, will not be tolerated," he said.
However, Krasner says the task force hasn't received reports of voter fraud. While prosecutors don't expect it, he says they do want to know about it if it happens. "We don't want to hear a bunch of crazy fiction later about how things happen," he said. "This is the time. You got an issue, bring it to us, show us the evidence. We are here in an even-handed fashion."
