Another Reason Voters Should Be Worried About Crime

For communities across the country, crime is a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. It dominates headlines, and it’s understandably top of mind for voters.

The Center for Excellence in Polling (CEP) surveyed likely voters in Ohio and Idaho about several issues, including crime in their states. In Ohio, 90 percent of voters are very or somewhat concerned about crime rates, particularly in local cities (78 percent). In Idaho, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of likely voters are somewhat or very concerned about crime rates in the state. Again, a majority (59 percent) of likely voters are concerned about crime in cities compared to suburbs (20 percent) and rural areas (21 percent).

Radical, activist district attorneys whose campaigns were bankrolled by leftist billionaire George Soros deserve much of the credit for America’s urban safety concerns.

Research by the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) has found that the issue is bigger than crime waves. The very district attorneys who cannot be trusted to prosecute violent crime in their jurisdictions are often the officials responsible for prosecuting election crimes if and when they occur. In fact, Soros-backed district attorneys are in charge of prosecuting election crimes for 70 million Americans and counting.

Can Americans trust that a radical, agenda-focused district attorney will properly handle election crimes—especially if those crimes are committed by like-minded individuals?

Probably not.

That’s why state lawmakers should grant attorneys general concurrent prosecutorial authority over election crimes—meaning state attorneys general should be able to prosecute election crimes when district attorneys fail to do so. As FGA’s research notes, the best way to do this is with clear statutory authority to help limit issues with enforcement.

This reform is popular. In CEP’s recent surveys, 86 percent of likely Ohio voters and 65 percent of likely Idaho voters strongly or somewhat support allowing state attorneys general to step in and prosecute cases that local prosecutors refuse to prosecute. And 77 percent of likely Ohio voters strongly or somewhat support allowing the state attorney general and local prosecutors to have the authority to prosecute election crimes.

Thanks to Soros, America’s great cities have become experiments in what can happen if district attorneys refuse to hold criminals accountable. Giving state attorneys general statutory authority to prosecute election crimes will prevent America’s elections from going down the same path.