Amid questions surrounding the fundraising numbers, legal credentials and campaign finance reports of Richmond City Council candidate Tavares Floyd, Virginia election law is getting a lot of attention.
A crucial question being asked: Who’s responsible for ensuring that candidates’ financial disclosures are accurate?
Richmond’s top elections official, the city’s lead prosecutor and the state elections department are all certain of one thing: It’s not them.
“I do not have the legal authority to audit these documents,” General Registrar Keith Balmer wrote in an email. “It is my job to ensure that these documents are submitted and that they are submitted on time.”
VPM News asked Balmer, who was appointed in 2021, about a recent WTVR report in which he said there was “no requirement or mention in the statute that I must scrutinize the content of the filings beyond ensuring their timeliness and completeness.”
In his response, Balmer cited Virginia Code outlining penalties for missing, late or incomplete campaign finance filings; the general registrar is required to report potential violations by local candidates to the commonwealth’s attorney — an elected position.
“I can only forward to the Commonwealth’s Attorney someone who fails to file their campaign finance reports, or who is unresponsive to my attempts to get them to file a complete report,” he said.
Andrea Gaines, a spokesperson for the state elections department, confirmed to VPM News that a local registrar’s responsibility ends at making sure required reports are completed and filed on time. The filing’s accuracy does not need to be confirmed by the registrar.
Another section of Virginia election law states that “any willfully false material statement or entry made by any person in any statement, form, or report required by this title shall constitute the crime of election fraud and be punishable as a Class 5 felony.”
Required forms include a message reminding candidates of the penalty for submitting false information, and state code outlines that complaints of alleged violations “shall be filed with the attorney for the Commonwealth of the county or city in which the alleged violation occurred.”
But state code does not appear to give the power to audit filings for potential violations to any specific position or governing body. And according to Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin — who would prosecute charges for violations by candidates in the city — if someone reports a complaint to another agency, that agency is not bound by law to refer it to her office.
“I’m not aware of any Virginia statute that places that auditing authority ‘in real time’ on any individual, agency, office or board,” she wrote in an email Wednesday. McEachin did point out that state law gives Attorney General Jason Miyares' office “full authority to do whatever is necessary or appropriate to enforce elections laws or prosecute violations.”
State code also gives local police forces responsibility for “prevention and detection of crime” and “enforcement of state and local laws” within their jurisdictions. VPM News contacted the Richmond Police Department on Friday to ask whether that responsibility includes elections-related crimes, but the department did not immediately respond.
The lack of clarity about whether any official or agency has the power to verify local-level campaign filings seemingly places the burden on the public, including media organizations. Vetting the information would involve obtaining copies of candidates’ documents via FOIA request and performing independent research and analysis.
Balmer, Gaines and McEachin each responded differently while explaining who’s accountable for verifying information a local candidate files.
Gaines referred questions about the State and Local Statement of Economic Interests form to its creator, the Virginia Conflict of Interest and Ethics Advisory Council — whose members are appointed by either chamber of the Legislature or the governor. Reached by phone, executive director G. Stewart Petoe said the council “has no jurisdiction” over campaign finance law and does not answer questions from press or the general public.
McEachin said the only auditing mechanism described by Virginia law is that the elections department “has the authority to review the reports and records of the campaign committee within 180 days following the general election and report its findings to the Governor, the General Assembly and the State Board of Elections.”
Balmer said: “It’s the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that their submissions are accurate. Each of these documents has an affirmation stated on the form.”
Richmond Electoral Board member C. Starlet Stevens told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in October that “it would probably be a very good idea for [Balmer] to call the commonwealth’s attorney” to refer the allegations about Floyd’s financial reports to her.
In an Oct. 25 press release, McEachin said her office “is aware of the recent media coverage of the campaign finance filings submitted by Mr. Tavares Floyd, candidate for the 6th District City Council seat. My office has communicated with a number of local and state law enforcement and electoral entities to determine the most timely and productive means to address the allegations.”
Richmond Inspector General James Osuna told VPM News his office has also been in contact with the Office of the State Inspector General regarding Floyd. Osuna’s office, which investigates “fraud, waste and abuse” within the city’s government, would not have jurisdiction over Floyd unless he is elected — except as it pertains to his time as council liaison for one of his 6th District opponents, Councilor Ellen Robertson.
McEachin, who took her post following a 2019 special election, declined to provide VPM News with more detail or confirm whether an investigation into Floyd was underway. She also did not go into detail when asked what would happen if any investigation found that a candidate willfully misrepresented information on a required filing.
“The election law statutes are silent as to those options,” she wrote. “The General Assembly may want to address that.”
Lyndon German and Patrick Larsen contributed reporting.
