DOJ Warns Election Officials: Preserve Records

Justice sent letters to election officials in all 50 states, signed by Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter, warning that willfully failing to keep election records is a crime. The penalty is up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine. The letters cover ballots, poll books and sign-in sheets ahead of Tuesday's midterms. Votebeat notes federal law already requires 22 months of keeping voting records, which is about how long I can hold on to a sale barn receipt before it turns up in the truck ashtray. ABC News reports several state officials say past administrations passed along these same rules without the lecture. A Connecticut official thought the emphasis on criminal penalties could have been handled differently. Maybe so. But the FBI hauled off more than 600 boxes from Fulton County in January, so somebody in Washington decided the paperwork needed a reminder.