NRSC Counsel Responds to Coakley Lawyer Marc Elias' Cries of Voter Fraud

NRSC General Counsel Sean Cairncross has responded to allegations by Coakley campaign attorney Marc Elias:

A professional like Marc Elias represents multiple Democratic committees and campaigns and we would expect a higher level of truthfulness and candor from him. Prior to making his serious allegations, the Coakley Campaign was told by the Secretary of State's office that Mr. Elias' very allegations were unfounded. Mr. Elias' false alarm demonstrates a deeply disturbing level of recklessness and disrespect for the electoral process both on his part and on the part of the Coakley Campaign.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that some ballots at polling places were pre-marked for Scott Brown. The Secretary of State's office investigated the reports and dismissed them. Later, Coakley held a press conference "to discuss reports threatening integrity of [the] election." Noted Democrat election law attorney Marc Elias (who you may remember from last year as Al Franken's attorney in the debacle in Minnesota), took to the stage and sounded the alarm. This is all after the Secretary of State's office told the campaign the concerns were unfounded.

If that wasn't enough, the Coakley campaign released a press release, dated yesterday, that "voters across the state" were reporting pre-marked ballots for Brown. As National Review points out, the "they're trying to steal the election" cry is a favorite for losing Democrat campaigns, including John Kerry who in 2004 urged his Colorado staffers to issue press releases claiming voter intimidation even if there were no signs of intimidation techniques.