{"id":1673422,"date":"2022-10-05T07:52:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T11:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1673422"},"modified":"2022-10-05T07:53:32","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T11:53:32","slug":"doj-election-official-voted-in-tight-north-carolina-race-while-claiming-dc-residency-bar-complaint-alleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-election-official-voted-in-tight-north-carolina-race-while-claiming-dc-residency-bar-complaint-alleges\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Election Official Voted In Tight North Carolina Race While Claiming DC Residency, Bar Complaint Alleges\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-election-official-voted-in-tight-north-carolina-race-while-claiming-dc-residency-bar-complaint-alleges%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1673422&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>An attorney with the voting rights division of the Department of Justice \u2014 which enforces federal laws related to voting \u2014 allegedly violated election law when she voted in the 2020 presidential election in North Carolina, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanaccountabilityfoundation.com\/janie-sitton-research\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">memo<\/a> by the American Accountability Foundation outlines.<\/p>\n<p>Longtime DOJ attorney Janie Sitton cast a ballot in North Carolina\u2019s 2020 general election, despite being a resident of Washington, D.C., at the time. While Donald Trump ended up carrying North Carolina <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2020-election\/results\/north-carolina\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">by just 1.3 points<\/a>, the race was a dead heat until <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2020\/10\/20\/poll-north-carolina-presidential-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the very end<\/a>. This was not the case in the District of Columbia, however, where Trump earned only 5 percent of the vote. Perhaps this is why Sitton chose to vote in the Tar Heel State rather than D.C. \u2014 and it\u2019s a prime example of how skirting election laws can contribute to rigged elections.<\/p>\n<p>On Monday, the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) filed bar complaints in both\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/link\/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:2b5743bc-5a80-3c88-9233-176bbf077d01\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Carolina<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/acrobat.adobe.com\/link\/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:c3b70c13-9448-3c57-a53c-7baa390a2252\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">D.C.<\/a>\u00a0over Sitton\u2019s presumed misconduct. In the\u00a0memo\u00a0compiled by AAF, voter data shows Sitton as a resident and active voter in D.C. since Aug. 13, 2010, voting in five elections leading up to 2018. Since 2018, Sitton has claimed a D.C. homestead deduction on her tax filings. To claim that tax deduction, residents must declare that the property is their principal residence, according to the memo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSubmitting a false statement on these property tax records can subject the applicant to criminal penalties, according to the fraud and false statement laws under 47-4106 of the Code of the District of Columbia,\u201d according to AAF.<\/p>\n<p>Sitton also owns a condominium in North Carolina, which she bought in 2002. Tax documents indicate Sitton\u2019s mailing address for the condominium is her Washington, D.C., address.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In August 2020, however, Sitton registered to vote in North Carolina using the address of her condo, per the state\u2019s Board of Elections Voter Database. Shortly after Sitton registered to vote in North Carolina, she cast a ballot in the 2020 general election as well as a municipal election in November 2021. In May 2022, Sitton abruptly restored her voter registration in Washington, per D.C. Board of Elections data.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sitton was essentially voting in North Carolina as if that were her primary residence while claiming a homestead deduction on her apparently real primary residence in D.C. A year prior to casting her ballot in the 2020 election, Sitton even signed a mortgage agreement to keep her North Carolina condo as a second non-residence property, per AAF.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Such behavior ostensibly violates North Carolina state statute, which, according to AAF, defines \u201cwhat is and is not considered residency for the purposes of registering to vote within the state.\u201d The statute\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncleg.gov\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/PDF\/BySection\/Chapter_163\/GS_163-57.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defines<\/a>\u00a0residency as:\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-container-1 wp-block-group\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>(1) That place shall be considered the residence of a person in which that\u00a0<strong>person\u2019s habitation is fixed<\/strong>, and to which, whenever that person is absent, that\u00a0<strong>person has the intention of returning<\/strong>\u2026.4)\u00a0<strong>If a person removes to another state or county<\/strong>, municipality, precinct, ward, or other election district within this State, with the intention of making that state, county, municipality, precinct, ward, or other election district a permanent residence,\u00a0<strong>that person shall be considered to have lost residence<\/strong>\u00a0in the state, county, municipality, precinct, ward, or other election district from which that person has removed\u00a0[emphasis added].<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Presumably, Sitton never had the intention of making her North Carolina condo her primary residence when she cast her ballot in the 2020 election. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cJanie Sitton, a senior attorney in the DOJ Voting Section, lied about her residency to register to vote in North Carolina so she could vote in a competitive Presidential election,\u201d AAF Founder Tom Jones told The Federalist. \u201cIf DOJ election attorneys are unwilling to abide by the most straightforward of election laws, how can we trust them to enforce voting laws in the upcoming election?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sitton\u2019s alleged partisanship is nothing new to the DOJ, which has a history of politically motivated abuse of federal law. For example, the agency is actively involved in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iwf.org\/2021\/12\/03\/do-the-american-people-really-want-more-election-lawyering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">delaying<\/a> election integrity efforts in Florida, has sued both <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/press-release\/file\/1406456\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Georgia<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/press-release\/file\/1446536\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texas<\/a> over additional election integrity legislation, and is helping facilitate <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/09\/23\/left-wing-group-writes-playbook-for-bidens-partisan-federal-takeover-of-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Biden\u2019s federal takeover of elections<\/a>. The DOJ\u2019s current associate attorney general, Vanita Gupta, headed a DOJ lawsuit attempting to block voter ID laws in North Carolina in 2015. <\/p>\n<p>Not to mention that the current head of the DOJ\u2019s Civil Rights Division (which Sitton\u2019s voting rights division falls under), Kristen Clarke, led a lawsuit against then-Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp\u2019s election integrity policies as a private lawyer, peddled the <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/03\/09\/bidens-pick-for-civil-rights-head-peddled-the-jussie-smollett-hate-crime-hoax\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax<\/a>, and in college <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/01\/22\/in-college-bidens-pick-for-top-civil-rights-lawyer-argued-blacks-are-the-superior-race\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">argued that blacks are the superior race<\/a>. In other words, it\u2019s not just Sitton that appears to be a politically motivated actor, it\u2019s pretty much <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/09\/26\/fbi-justice-department-twist-federal-law-to-arrest-charge-pro-life-activist\/?_gl=1*1nm5dhj*_ga*MjA3MTgzNjA1OC4xNjY0ODk0NzYw*_ga_W14BT6YQ87*MTY2NDg5NDc2MC4xLjAuMTY2NDg5NDc2MC42MC4wLjA.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the entire DOJ<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstances like this show how sophisticated election lawyers can game the system,\u201d former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/09\/14\/exclusive-oversight-nonprofit-alleges-doj-attorney-handling-voting-integrity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Breitbart<\/a>. And \u201d\u00a0how easily voting laws can be leveraged by those who know how those laws are written.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The DOJ did not respond to The Federalist\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n<p>\n  Victoria Marshall is a staff writer at The Federalist. Her writing has been featured in the New York Post, National Review, and Townhall. She graduated from Hillsdale College in May 2021 with a major in politics and a minor in journalism. Follow her on Twitter @vemrshll.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An attorney with the voting rights division of the Department of Justice \u2014 which enforces federal laws related to voting \u2014 allegedly violated election law when she voted in the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1130,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1673422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1130"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1673422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1673422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1673422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1673422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1673422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}