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CITY, ND – No one will be prosecuted following a state crime bureau investigation into potential election tampering in a January school bond vote in the Maple Valley School district. 

Barnes County state’s attorney Carl Martineck says the B-C-I agent who interviewed poll workers about people making improper statements to sway the vote found that much of much of it was hearsay. 

He says there was no direct evidence that election tampering actually took place at one of the polling sites. 

Martineck says special B-C-I agent Kelly Wimer conducted several interviews of poll workers about some making improper statements while working at the polling site, and voters who were accused of lobbying at the polling site. The reports of lobbying were made anonymously. 

He says the report of tampering at the poll worker station came from individuals reporting hearsay, not from direct reports: Law enforcement received a report that Person X told Person Y and Person Z about something she may have heard in line while waiting to vote. 

All the witnesses’ stories were consistent and there was zero direct evidence that election tampering actually took place.  When Person X was interviewed she denied making any statements to anyone about election tampering. Martineck says he declined to prosecute the case for lack of sufficient evidence.

The $10.3 million bond issue failed by 10 votes in January.  The district covers parts of Cass and Barnes counties.

Maple Valley School District superintendent Brian Wolf tells KOVC radio news that a second election on the proposed bond issue will be held Tuesday, April 14.