Wilbur W. Jennings Jr.
115 Sinclair Avenue
401-461-3617
Patrick C. Lynch
Rhode Island Attorney General
Re: Violation of Federal Civil Rights and Voter rights by local official using power of their office
Complaint and Request for Relief
1. Wilbur W. Jennings,
Jr. is Democratic Ward 8 Committee Chairman who resides at
2. During the election on November 7th,
at the Reservoir Fire Station polling place, an elderly couple, known to Wilbur
W. Jennings as voters who live in that ward and were eligible to vote appeared
at the polls who claimed they could not vote without assistance.
3. The disability voting machine were not
working, so Jennings approached the warden, Ed Hicks and asked how to go about
assisting the senior citizens with voting as they requested.
4. The warden agreed this was permitted, explained
the procedure and provided an affidavit to be filled out by the couple and by
5. Mayor David N. Cicilline
was at the polling place and objected, claiming that
6. When Warden Hicks began to explain the
procedure again for the Mayor, Cicilline challenged
him loudly to the growing crowd. He then
demanded
7. Cicilline repeated
the arrest threat loudly a number of times and that he would challenge the
election a second time while inside the polling place in the presence of people
voting in the Local, State and Federal Election.
8. Cicilline and
9.
10. The officer spoke first with the Mayor, then
went over to
11.
12.
WHEREFORE:
Complainant requests the RI
Attorney General and others to act promptly to maintain the integrity of the
Complainant also suggests the
Complainant suggests that based
on the above facts:
1. A city candidate for
re-election used the power of his elected office in an attempt to influence a
Federal, State and local election by using the police power under his control.
2. A city candidate for
re-election used the power of his elected office in an attempt to intimidate
and /or disenfranchise voters during a Federal, State and local election on election day by using the police power under his control.
3. A city candidate for
re-election both individually and using the power of his elected office
attempted to disrupt and interfere with the electoral process during a Federal
and State election inside the polling place on election day using the police
power under his control.
4.
A city candidate for re-election used his position as a licensed member
of the bar association, and the elected power of his office to challenge and attempt
to discredit a precinct warden who was properly and lawfully executing the
duties of his position.
5.
A city candidate for re-election used his position as an attorney, and
the elected power of his office to challenge and discredit a precinct warden
who was properly and lawfully executing the duties of his position.
6. That
7.
That removing a poll worker without cause and without authority could
influence the result in other elections.
8. That Mayor Cicilline by intimidation, preventing voting by those
lawfully there to do so, and being disorderly in a poll during a federal, state
and local election where he did not belong and had no authority implies an
authority to the people that he does not have.
9. That the Providence Police
officer, except for his duties to enforce criminal law, election law violations
observed by him, or to quell a disturbance observed directly by him, had no
authority to interfere, threaten, arrest, detain or disenfranchise any voter at
a polling place.
Wherefore, Complainant asks
that the RI Attorney General act with haste and all powers at his command to
investigate fully and enforce the State and Federal rights of the voters of
Signed and dated this 14th
of November, 2006.
Wilbur W. Jennings Jr.
Tel: 401-461-3617
Cell: 401-595-9216