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Did Ann Coulter Vote Illegally?
County Is Investigating Whether Conservative Columnist Voted In Wrong Precinct
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 2, 2006
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For the past nine months, Palm Beach County election officials have been investigating whether Ann Coulter knowingly voted in the wrong precinct during a Feb. 7 town council election. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Fast Facts
Knowingly voting in a wrong precinct is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office in West Palm Beach.
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(AP) Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has refused to cooperate in an investigation about whether he voted in the wrong precinct, so the case will likely be turned over to state prosecutors, Palm Beach County's elections chief said Wednesday.
Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said his office has been looking into the matter for nearly nine months, and he would turn over the case to the state attorney's office by Friday.
Coulter's attorney did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday and his telephone number in Palm Beach is unpublished. A message left for Tara Gilbride, a publicist for Coulter's publisher, The Crown Publishing Group, owned by Random House Inc., was also not immediately returned.
Anderson's office received a complaint in February that Coulter allegedly voted in the wrong precinct during a Feb. 7 Palm Beach town council election. Since then, Anderson said he has made repeated attempts to resolve the matter with Coulter and his attorney but has been rebuffed.
Anderson, a Democrat, said an initial letter was sent to Coulter on March 27 requesting that he clarify his address for the voting records "or face the possibility of his voter registration being rescinded."
Three more letters were sent to Coulter and his attorney over the next several months, but he has yet to respond with the information requested, Anderson said.
In July, Anderson said, he received a letter from Coulter's attorney, Marcos Daniel Jimenez D'Clouet. The letter said the attorney would only discuss the matter in person or by telephone because he complained Anderson had given details to the media. Anderson said the matter had to be discussed in writing.
Knowingly voting in a wrong precinct is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office in West Palm Beach.
Edmondson said his office generally reviews such cases, then turns them over to local authorities for a full investigation that could result in an arrest if intent is proven.
County Is Investigating Whether Conservative Columnist Voted In Wrong Precinct
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 2, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For the past nine months, Palm Beach County election officials have been investigating whether Ann Coulter knowingly voted in the wrong precinct during a Feb. 7 town council election. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
Fast Facts
Knowingly voting in a wrong precinct is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office in West Palm Beach.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(AP) Conservative columnist Ann Coulter has refused to cooperate in an investigation about whether he voted in the wrong precinct, so the case will likely be turned over to state prosecutors, Palm Beach County's elections chief said Wednesday.
Elections Supervisor Arthur Anderson said his office has been looking into the matter for nearly nine months, and he would turn over the case to the state attorney's office by Friday.
Coulter's attorney did not immediately return a telephone message Wednesday and his telephone number in Palm Beach is unpublished. A message left for Tara Gilbride, a publicist for Coulter's publisher, The Crown Publishing Group, owned by Random House Inc., was also not immediately returned.
Anderson's office received a complaint in February that Coulter allegedly voted in the wrong precinct during a Feb. 7 Palm Beach town council election. Since then, Anderson said he has made repeated attempts to resolve the matter with Coulter and his attorney but has been rebuffed.
Anderson, a Democrat, said an initial letter was sent to Coulter on March 27 requesting that he clarify his address for the voting records "or face the possibility of his voter registration being rescinded."
Three more letters were sent to Coulter and his attorney over the next several months, but he has yet to respond with the information requested, Anderson said.
In July, Anderson said, he received a letter from Coulter's attorney, Marcos Daniel Jimenez D'Clouet. The letter said the attorney would only discuss the matter in person or by telephone because he complained Anderson had given details to the media. Anderson said the matter had to be discussed in writing.
Knowingly voting in a wrong precinct is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the state attorney's office in West Palm Beach.
Edmondson said his office generally reviews such cases, then turns them over to local authorities for a full investigation that could result in an arrest if intent is proven.
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