US News
Voter intimidation reported in Virginia
By DPA
Nov 7, 2006, 19:00 GMT

Washington - Officials in the US state of Virginia said they had received reports of scattered attempts to intimidate potential voters in Tuesday's Congressional elections, US media reported.

Jean Jensen, the secretary of the state's Board of Elections, told cable station MSNBC that her office had received reports from people who had gotten phone calls falsely telling them their polling places had changed.

Another voter apparently received a message telling him he was registered in another state and could not vote, even though he had lived in Virginia for years, Jensen said.

The reports from at least nine localities across the state did not seem to target a particular group or political party and have been reported to the FBI for investigation, she said.

Virginia is a key state in the elections in which opposition Democrats seek to take control of Congress. A close race there pits Republican Senator George Allen against Democratic challenger Jim Webb, a former Navy secretary who recently switched parties.