Rep. Scott Taylor is facing scrutiny over allegations that his staffers collected bogus campaign signatures on behalf of an independent candidate in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District — part of an effort that, according to political observers, appears to be aimed at siphoning votes away from his Democratic challenger Elaine Luria.
Things heated up Tuesday after Wavy.com reported that Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle has asked that special prosecutor investigate allegations of forgery and whether election laws were broken when staffers on Mr. Taylor’s campaign payroll gathered signatures to help Shaun Brown, a former Democrat, appear on the November ballot as an independent candidate.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that Circuit Court Judge Glenn Croshaw tapped Roanoke Commonwealth’s Attorney Donald Caldwell as the special prosecutor.
News outlets have reported that the signatures gathered over a two-day period before the June 12 deadline included the names of a dead man and a person who had registered to vote in Nevada in 2014.
Mr. Taylor has said the staffers acted on their own and said they did nothing inappropriate, according to The Times-Dispatch.
Democrats, meanwhile, have highlighted the controversy, saying the “integrity of our election process is paramount.”
“VA-02 votes deserve to know if Congressman Taylor’s paid staff violated the law and if all candidates received the required number of signatures to make the ballot this November,” said Jake Rubenstein, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Virginia.
The Cook Political Report rates the House race as “lean Republican.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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