NORFOLK, Va. — The Virginia NAACP is once again lashing out at the Virginia Attorney General's Office's new Election Integrity Unit.
Tuesday, Virginia NAACP president Robert Barnette said the unit is “lacking” in any real substance.
“This Unit is plainly a paper tiger," Barnette said. "A public-relations ploy to pander to the election deniers and conspiracy theorists who are the real force undermining public confidence in our elections."
The group first reached out to AG Jason Miyares' office in October, asking for all the public records related to the unit's creation, staffing and finances.
That would be public information, but government offices can request payment for putting together public reports. In this case, Miyares' office responded with a $20,000 price tag to comply with the requests.
At the start of November, the Virginia NAACP agreed to pay. Barnette said the AG's office ultimately charged his team a little more than $9,500.
Barnette said the records show the election integrity unit has no actual staff and no evidence of any election fraud.
"Attorney General Jason Miyares did not provide the volumes of information that his heavy fee and projection of work hours suggested," Barnette said. "And we were deeply disappointed in the scant amount of information related to a unit that the Attorney General touted as essential."
When Miyares' office announced the unit, the office said this was its goal:
"This unit will provide legal advice to the Department of Elections, investigate and prosecute violations of Virginia election law, work with the election community throughout the year to ensure uniformity and legality in application of election laws, and work with law enforcement to ensure legality and purity in elections."
The NAACP said the AG's office has no records about the unit's staffing, supervision, reporting structure, approval process for investigation, the statutes it is tasked to enforce, or documentation about its guidelines, procedures, policies, practices, manuals, training materials or performance standards.
“We specifically asked for that in the FOIA request and they indicated they do not have any records regarding staffing of the unit or personnel assigned to the unit,” Barnette said. "As to records identifying the number of convictions for crimes constituting voter fraud or 'election cheating' in Virginia in each year since 2008, the OAG has none."
The AG's office said in a statement in response, the NAACP's comments are "inappropriate and baseless."
Miyares Spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita said: “…the Virginia NAACP is making groundless attacks that are offensive, ridiculous, and without a single shred of proof. Due to the NAACP’s inappropriate and baseless attack, we continue to expect an apology…”
She explained about 20 attorneys, investigators, and paralegals in the AG’s office make up the unit and the office is fielding a wide range of citizen complaints and lawsuits involving election issues and irregularities.
Her statement said Miyares has "repeatedly affirmed there is no evidence of widespread election fraud in Virginia."
Back in November, Robert Barnette, the Virginia NAACP's president, told 13News Now that the aim of the records request was to hold the attorney general accountable and ensure that the unit won't interfere with elections or the right to vote.
“The Virginia NAACP will not allow the Attorney General’s Office to escape public scrutiny, and we will not be bullied,” Barnette said.
The Virginia NAACP is calling on Miyares to disband the unit.