(Letter to the Editor - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

Over the last few years, election integrity has been a huge topic of discussion in politics. Election integrity is far more than “stolen votes,” mail-in ballot shenanigans and voting machine irregularities. Election integrity is extremely important if we are to have a system that truly represents the people.

In local politics there are districts to ensure all people of a county or municipality have equal representation. If a representative were to lie about their address and residency, what else would they lie about? What other rules, procedures or laws would they break to gain an advantage? A public official lying about something as simple as their address shows a huge lack of integrity, and people should question that official’s integrity in every decision they make on behalf of the people they represent.

There is more than one public official in Wood County, who has used an address they don’t actually reside at in order to run for an office in a certain district or have used an illegitimate address to be appointed to a public office in a district they don’t reside. Just this past week two individuals who ran for Board of Education in Cabell County have been indicted on three counts of election fraud, false swearing and conspiracy to commit false swearing. Because they used an illegitimate address on their certificate of announcement when they filed to run for office.

Residency requirements are clearly an issue in not only Wood County, but in West Virginia as a whole. With the cases in Cabell County, it is reassuring to see the Secretary of State’s office is taking this matter seriously. If an example is made that these fraudulent actions are not going to be tolerated, it will go a long way in helping restore election integrity and the people’s confidence in their elected officials.

Chad Conley

Parkersburg