The 17-year-old son of Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin attempted to cast a ballot twice on Election Day despite being too young to vote, local elections officials said on Friday.
Youngkin’s son, who is not being named because he is a minor, tried unsuccessfully to vote at a polling place in Great Falls, Va., which was not the assigned voting location for his home address, officials told News4, an NBC News television affiliate in Washington, D.C.
Election workers turned the teen away after they determined he was ineligible to vote, Fairfax County election officials said. He returned 30 minutes later and requested another ballot before being turned away again, News4 reported.
The Fairfax County Office of Elections told News4 it was investigating the incident but noted that it’s unclear whether any laws were broken since the teen presented proper identification and did not end up casting a vote.
“This morning, November 5, 2021, the General Registrar was made aware of concerns that a 17 yo male attempted on two occasions to vote on election day. The young man presented identification but was ineligible to be registered due to his age and was not permitted to vote. The man was given a registration form and encouraged to register for future elections,” the office of elections said in a statement to NBC News.
“The man did not vote. He made no false statements. He did not disrupt voting,” the statement added.
In a statement to News4 on Friday, a spokesperson for Youngkin said the teen “misunderstood” election law.
“It’s unfortunate that while Glenn attempts to unite the Commonwealth around his positive message of better schools, safer streets, a lower cost of living, and more jobs, his political opponents — mad that they suffered historic losses this year — are pitching opposition research on a 17-year old kid who honestly misunderstood Virginia election law and simply asked polling officials if he was eligible to vote; when informed he was not, he went to school,” the spokesperson said.
Youngkin’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
Youngkin, a former private equity executive and political newcomer, defeated Democrat Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday in Virginia’s high-profile election. He was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, who made baseless claims about election fraud in Virginia’s gubernatorial election, similar to his unfounded claims surrounding the 2020 presidential election.
Trump said in a statement Monday that he is “not a believer in the integrity of Virginia’s elections,” despite taking credit for Youngkin’s victory in the state on Tuesday. President Joe Biden won Virginia last year by 10 percentage points.
During the primary, Youngkin and his GOP competitors raised questions about election integrity from 2020. He later called Biden’s victory “certifiably fair.”
Jonathan Allen contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
