VSP continues investigation

Published 8:00 am Thursday, June 2, 2022

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It has been close to four months since the Board of Supervisors requested an investigation into the Charlotte County Voter Registrar’s Office following multiple issues and still no questions have been answered.

After over a year of questions and concerns about the duties performed by former county Registrar Eric Goode and his office, followed by a lawsuit, the Board of Supervisors sought an investigation by the Virginia State Police (VSP) of the office on Feb. 14.

The day following Feb. 15, Jenni Booth was named the county’s new Registrar.

In December, the electoral board relocated the Registrar’s office temporarily, citing concerns as well.

On Tuesday, May 31 County Administrator Dan Witt said computers taken from the office had still not been returned and that requests for information have been vague.

“The VSP still has the computers collected from the Registrar’s office and we are being told the investigation could go on for quite a while.” Witt said.

Issues involving the former Registrar and his office came to light following a protective order Goode took out on electoral board member Dean Foster in November.

Goode, who served as Registrar since the fall of 2020 following the retirement of Nan Lambert, took out a protective order against Foster on Nov. 8 after he said Foster followed him when he left his office on several occasions.

Following a show-cause court case between him and Foster, Goode resigned.

In his resignation letter, Goode wrote that he was being forced out of a job and denied any wrongdoing while serving as voter registrar.

Since his resignation, there have been allegations of office mismanagement and missing absentee ballots from the November election.

The concerns over the Registrar’s office and practices had become such an issue over the past year that five citizens from the Randolph and Saxe area filed a lawsuit naming the county’s Voter Registrar, Board of Supervisors and the Virginia Department of Elections as defendants in December.

On Feb. 9, a judge dismissed the case.