RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A Virginia Republican Party employee has been charged with felony and misdemeanor vote fraud counts for allegedly tossing voter registration forms in the trash.
The Rockingham County sheriff's office confirmed Colin Small, 23, of Phoenixville, Pa., was charged with violations including obstruction of justice, destruction of voter registration applications and disclosure of voter registration applications, WTSV-TV, Richmond, Va., reported Friday.
Police arrested Small after Rob Johnson, a nearby store owner, reported seeing someone throw a bag into a Dumpster that is only supposed to be for use by his store.
Rockingham County elections officials said people whose voter registration applications had been tossed will be able to vote Nov. 6.
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Officials said there was no indication the incident was politically motivated or part of a larger pattern, but Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Brian Moran called on state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to investigate.
"This individual was an employee of the first firm the Republican Party of Virginia hired to do voter registration before they fired that firm amidst allegations of fraud in other states," Moran said. "Virginians deserve answers as to how this person was still working for Republican campaigns here and whether his behavior was directed by his superiors or party officials."
Citing a source it identified only as "close to the case," U.S. News and World Report said Small appeared to have thrown the voter registration forms away because he missed a deadline for turning them in and was afraid he would lose his job as a result.
Virginia Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins said in a statement Small has been fired for "direct contradiction" to his training and instructions, U.S. News reported.
Small has said on his LinkedIn profile he was a "Grassroots Field Director" for the Republican National Committee but RNC spokesman Sean Spicer told NBC News the RNC never directly employed Small.
