Vermont Democrats are accusing a candidate for a House seat in Windham County of being part of an illegal effort to mislead voters about his opponent in the the runup to the Vermont Primary.
In a statement issued less than two hours before polls closed Tuesday, Windham County Democrats and the Vermont Democratic Party said Guilford residents had received anonymous letters with ‘misleading’ attacks on candidate Zon Eastes, chair of the Guilford Selectboard.
Eastes defeated Jason Herron, a former Republican running as a Democrat in the primary, on Tuesday by a nearly three-to-one margin.
In the statement, Vermont Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Dandeneau called Herron a “far-right candidate” allegedly involved in “a string of unethical and even illegal actions.”
Read the anonymous letter to Guilford residentsDownload
In a statement posted to social media, Herron denied that he had any involvement in the letter, and suggested that Eastes mailed the letter to make residents think he had been attacked.
“This was done with the intention to discourage citizens from voting for me while simultaneously encouraging citizens to vote for my opponent,” he said. “This letter is a vicious attack with the purposeful intent of destroying my character on election day and was committed by wealthy and influential members behind the Democrat party’s steel curtain. [I’ve] never sent an anonymous letter to anyone, ever.”
Dandeneau said state and local party officials have reported the letter to the Vermont Secretary of State and the Attorney General. They have also filed a public records request for emails and other communications between the Guilford Town Clerk and “select employees regarding the Windham-1 primary and potential malfeasance.”
“We will work with state and local officials to identify who is behind these most recent, and serious, legal violations, and to hold them accountable,” Dandeneau said in the statement. “It is clear to us, however, that criminal election interference has been committed in this race by the sender of these anonymous letters.”
Democrats say the letter to Guilford residents falsely accuses Eastes of engineering a “take over” of the town vaults, which are used to secure materials related to town elections, including ballots. The letter says “Dysfunctional Government Officials can be Voted out by We the Voters. We hope you will remember these circumstances we have shared when you choose how you will Vote.”
The five-page letter ncludes links to Guilford Selectboard meetings, as well as general information about the Primary and November’s General Election. It does not mention Herron’s name or his candidacy, or any other political group or organization
Democrats say the letter violates a Vermont election statute that requires electioneering communications to clearly identify the “person, candidate, political committee, or political party that paid for the communication.”
Dandeneau said the letter “clearly fails to comply with Vermont Campaign Finance laws” that specifically prohibit deceptive communications.
“While far-right MAGA extremists have sought to sow doubt about our elections around the nation, it is incredibly disappointing to see these tactics come home to our backyard in Windham County,” he said. “Vermonters have trusted in our elections for generations, knowing that our neighbors who serve as Justices of the Peace and election workers are good, honest people.
For his part, Eastes said he had only just heard about the letter and hasn’t read it. He said, ‘I am deeply honored and humbled by the support I’ve received from voters in Vernon and Guilford.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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Publish date : 2024-08-14 13:33:00
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