As Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli is responsible for providing advice to the state Board of Elections on legal issues relating to campaigns and elections — including his own campaign for governor.
Tell Ken Cuccinelli: Recuse yourself and your office from election matters.
That means he’s responsible for issuing legal opinions about the implementation of voting and election laws, and will be the Board’s go-to lawyer if there are any problems or irregularities on Election Day!
If Ken Cuccinelli wants to resolve this stunning conflict of interest, he should recuse himself and his office from election matters immediately.
Ken Cuccinelli isn’t the first Attorney General to run for governor of Virginia. But he did break a long-standing bipartisan tradition by flat out refusing to step down during the campaign.
In recent history, former attorneys general have resigned because of the time commitments of a gubernatorial campaign (when Governor McDonnell stepped aside, he said a campaign “preclude[s] you from working full-time as attorney general”) and because of the inevitable conflicts of interest that arise for any attorney general who is also a candidate for governor.
Earlier this month, the Daily Press Editorial Board called on Cuccinelli to step aside, explaining, “if a Democratic campaign needs clarification on a legal matter, it must seek guidance from an office headed by the Republican candidate for governor. And if questions arise for the GOP, the attorney general’s office cannot be expected to give counsel to a ticket headed by its own boss.”
Add your name to our petition to demand Ken Cuccinelli end this egregious conflict of interest by recusing himself immediately:
http://action.terrymcauliffe.com/step-aside
Voters deserve an election free from any hint of conflict of interest — and Cuccinelli’s dual role is more than a hint.
Thanks for taking a stand,
– Emily
Emily Aden
Research Director
McAuliffe for Governor