Election interference complaint lodged against incumbent in Providence legislative primary

The mud is flying in the three-way Democratic primary for Providence’s House District 9, with a new set of accusations surrounding the incumbent.

Santos Javier, who is challenging Rep. Enrique Sanchez for the seat, accused the incumbent of “vote stealing,” and “misconduct,” including threatening voters and tampering with mail ballots. Javier filed a complaint with the Rhode Island Board of Elections over these allegations, he said in a statement Tuesday.

Chris Hunter, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Board of Elections, declined to comment when asked to confirm whether the complaint had been received, or an investigation opened.

The accusations fuel an already fiery primary, with all three candidates — Sanchez, Javier, and former seatholder Anastacia Williams — offering up a smorgasbord of criticism, from personal attacks to alleged ethical violations and accusations over election interference.

So many accusations in Providence House Democratic primary contest, so little time to investigate

The new complaint accuses Sanchez, and one of his campaign workers, of submitting fraudulent votes and otherwise manipulating voters’ mail ballots, as well as scaring voters away from voting or influencing their choice through a letter circulated to district voters accusing Javier’s campaign of election tampering.

He told Rhode Island Current Wednesday that the voters alleging mail ballot manipulation or scare tactics by the Sanchez campaign had filed separate reports with local law enforcement. Providence Police did not immediately return requests Wednesday confirming the reports had been filed.

“These allegations are deeply troubling, and, if true, represent a grave violation of the democratic process,” Javier said.

Michael Garman, Sanchez’ campaign manager, dismissed the accusations by Javier as “false and completely baseless” in a social media statement.

“Our campaign has been extremely careful to only present the facts and to avoid making any allegations that we cannot fully substantiate,” Garman said in a post on X on Aug. 27. “It is deeply unfortunate that Mr. Javier has not chosen to hold himself to the same standard.”

Sanchez filed his own complaint with the state elections board on Aug. 21, accusing Javier’s campaign of changing phone numbers on voters’ mail ballot applications. The Sanchez campaign also asked the state ethics panel to investigate both his opponents over alleged omissions on their annual financial disclosures; the Rhode Island Ethics Commission opened dual reviews on Aug. 20.

Meanwhile, Williams, who held the seat for 30 years before being ousted by Sanchez in the 2022 primary, filed her own complaints with the Providence Police Department and the elections board, alleging both her opponents were involved in mail ballot tampering and stealing campaign signs.

Lindsay Lague, a spokesperson for Providence Police, confirmed on Monday that the investigation into Williams’ complaint was ongoing, but declined to provide further comment.

The state elections board has scheduled a closed-door meeting Thursday to “discuss and/or possibly vote on an investigation,” according to a meeting agenda filed on Tuesday. The agenda does not provide any details about which race or investigation the board will discuss.

The flurry of accusations and ongoing investigations come in the midst of early voting for the primary, which began on Aug. 21. 

In Providence, which includes but is not limited to the 9th House District, 854 voters had turned in mail ballots to the elections board, while another 120 voters had cast votes early, in-person as of Tuesday, according to the Rhode Island Department of State’s online data tracker.

As of Aug. 20, the Providence Board of Canvassers had received 585 mail ballot applications from voters in the legislative district, 58 of which were rejected for “various inaccuracies,” according to Josh Estrella, a city spokesperson. 

The primary is Tuesday, Sept. 10.