US attorney in the Sioux Falls serves as election officer

YANKTON, S.D. (AP) - Kevin Koliner isn’t running for office in South Dakota, but he’ll be keeping close watch on the Election Day balloting.

For that matter, he has already started monitoring for any fraud or improper activity.

The Yankton native works as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Sioux Falls office. He will serve as the U.S. Department of Justice’s district election officer (DEO) in South Dakota.

In his position, Koliner will serve as the Justice Department’s point person on Election Day. He will oversee any potential election fraud complaints and voting rights abuses that may crop up in the Nov. 8 general election, the Yankton Daily Press and Dakotan (https://bit.ly/2e3DoOY ) reported.

“We’re federal officers, and we handle questions related to federal offenses,” he said.

The Justice Department has conducted its Election Day monitoring program for years, Koliner said. This includes the Justice Department placing monitoring officials at different locations if something happens during any federal election.

“It’s nothing new to this election. It’s no reaction to the national conversation, and it has nothing to do with the news of the day or comments made in the news cycle,” he said.

“There’s always someone designated as the district election officer. It’s a role that’s been offered by the Department of Justice for many generations.”

South Dakota hasn’t seen many federal election offenses, Koliner said. “We don’t have a history of violations rising to the level of federal prosecution in South Dakota,” he added.

U.S. Attorney Randy Seiler appointed Koliner as the district election officer for the South Dakota district. Election officers are appointed in each Justice Department district, such as Nebraska and Iowa.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination and to have that vote counted,” Seiler said in a news release. “The Department of Justice will act promptly and aggressively to protect the integrity of the election process.”

With early voting under way, Koliner’s duties as a district election officer have already begun. He has coordinated efforts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“I’m available at any point in time to answer questions or complaints to be lodged in any of these matters,” he said. “It’s not just Election Day, when we do intend to have devoted duty stations where we are managing the phones.

“I’ll be positioned with an FBI agent designated for that day. We’re blocking off (our schedule) for Election Day, at the very least when the polls are open. We’re ready if anything happens.”

Koliner has served since 2006 with the U.S. Attorney’s office in Sioux Falls. However, the appointment as a district election officer is new to him.

“This is my first federal election (in this role). Randy Seiler formerly served as the district election officer. When he became U.S. attorney, he appointed me,” Koliner said. “We receive a list of information from the Department of Justice, and I have gone to various training. As part of the job, I went out to training in South Carolina.”

Koliner’s training has covered a full range of federal election laws.

“We learn what constitutes potential federal election crimes,” he said. “A big part of the training is on the laws, statutes, elements and case studies, along with past prosecutions in the courts.”

The Justice Department becomes involved in elections involving federal offices, Koliner said. Those federal offices include the presidential, Senate and House races.

“We hold federal criminal jurisdiction over any election where a federal candidate’s name is on the ballot. That applies to any federal or non-federal race,” he said. “As long as a single ballot has a federal race, then the election process itself confers federal jurisdiction on us.”

Election fraud and voting rights violations can take many forms, Koliner said. Federal offenses include providing false information for voting or registration, falsely claiming citizenship and preventing qualified voters from casting their ballots.

“We’re concerned about individuals being paid to vote for certain candidates,” he said. “We’re concerned about bribery and offenses such as multiple voting.”

In addition, federal law protects against such crimes as buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input.

“We’re also watching for people who are intimidating voters through physical force or through threats of force, or people who are intimidating persons trying to register,” Koliner said.

For example, the federal voting rights law may be violated by actions designed to interrupt or intimidate voters at polling places by questioning or challenging them. Another federal offense may come from photographing or videotaping voters on the pretext of uncovering illegal voting.

Further, federal law protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice, Koliner said.

“We’re also concerned about things that may not rise to the level of federal crimes,” he said. “Those areas include access to voting and (handicapped accessibility) compliance.”

As part of the Election Day effort, Koliner works with the FBI on establishing a contact list. Letters are sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the South Dakota secretary of state’s office, attorney general’s office and Division of Criminal Investigation (DC I), county auditors, state’s attorneys and tribal offices.

“The FBI oversees the investigation of federal election crimes with one exception,” he said. “The Department of Homeland Security agency is designated to handle any cybersecurity concerns with elections.”

In addition, face-to-face meetings are held with officials at some levels, Koliner said.

“We had a variety of meetings with folks from the state side, and I was impressed by their level of preparedness,” he said.

Koliner emphasized his role focuses on federal matters.

“I don’t work with state election law. There are a number of state violations that are not federal violations,” he said. “I also don’t answer calls about things like, ’We opened the polling place a half-hour late, so do we stay open another half-hour? What do we do?’ Those questions are referred to the secretary of state’s office.”

The U.S. Attorney’s office also works with the American Indian tribes in the state, he said.

“We work with Indian Country, but where there is a purely tribal election, the federal government has no jurisdiction,” he said.

In order to prevent Election Day problems, people can choose early voting and studying the ballot beforehand, Koliner said. That’s particularly important where the ballot contains a large number of races and measures.

In approaching Election Day, Koliner sees himself as a link between state and federal officials.

“I hope to be a source of information but also a conduit of information,” he said. “That’s whether I’m helping state officials get in touch with the right law enforcement or with helping Washington D.C. on matters that rise to national significance.”

The sanctity of voting must be protected in each election, Koliner said. In fact, the Justice Department contains divisions devoted to election law enforcement.

“It’s a bedrock of our democracy,” he said. “Few things are more important than ensuring our elections are fair and free, and that all of those who have that franchise have the ability to vote without intimidation.”

In that respect, Koliner feels prepared for next week’s general election.

“My office and department have prioritized this,” he said. “We have a system in place that ensures elections without interference. I also feel confident (people’s) votes will be counted.”

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Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, https://www.yankton.net/