Voters typically hate government employees breaking election rules.
Especially when that official is running for office herself.
And it seems that illegal sample ballots are just the beginning of the story.
Democrat’s Campaign Ads Violate Virginia Code
Democrat Cheryl Burke landed herself in hot water during Tuesday’s election.
Her campaign members were caught handing out illegal sample ballots to voters as they lined up to cast their votes.
Concerned citizens photographed the ballots and sounded the alarm.
This clearly broke Virginia’s election rules.
The key problem was failing to print who had authorized or paid for the ads anywhere on the paper.
But that wasn’t the only issue at play.
The ballots also listed Burke on a “Democratic Sample Ballot” when the race was meant to be a non-partisan Richmond School Board position.
Of course, Burke declared, “I am a Democrat,” and has sought the support of Democrats in her district.
But as a current member of the School Board running for re-election, she had already run under these campaign rules in the past.
Burke’s campaign tried to fix the issue but committed what seems to be another blunder.
Democrat Incumbent Uses School Resources to Print Campaign Flyers
A picture of the new flyers surfaced that showed them already printed but uncut inside Franklin Military Academy.
Superintendent Jason Kamras confirmed that at least some flyers were printed at the school by community volunteers, and that the Burke campaign would later compensate them.
However, Burke stated she didn’t know anything about the school printing.
Her opponent’s campaign attacked Burke for the fiasco.
“I am disappointed by reports that a rival campaign used RPS resources to print campaign materials, some of which did not include the legally-required disclosure,” said Robertson’s campaign manager, Jimmie Lee Jarvis. “I understand that honest mistakes happen, but any reasonable person should know that using much-needed school resources for political gain crosses a line.”
Burke continues to deny the claims, and the Virginia Department of Elections has yet to respond.
What do you think?
Should the Burke campaign be investigated? Or should resources be saved for more serious issues?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.