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The state's attorney general is investigating allegations of campaign fraud after a Prince George's County senator complained his opponents are circulating false sample voting ballots to fool voters before Tuesday's primary elections.

Last week, Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington, who is running for re-election, called for an investigation of ballots being circulated in the 26th legislative district that he said wrongly used his image, and on Monday the allegations spilled into a heated confrontation during early voting at the Oxon Hill library.

Muse claims that Citizens for Change, a Fort Washington-based community group that includes Jerry Mathis, who is running for District 8 County Council, is circulating a false voting ballot that positions itself as the "official Democratic ballot" and endorses Muse's rival candidates in District 26.

Muse claims that, as senator, only he can issue official ballots for the district. He accuses the group of mail and campaign fraud because the group is not registered with the state Board of Elections.

Mathis confirmed he supported Citizens for Change circulating the ballot and denied any wrongdoing, citing his First Amendment right to free speech.

Jarred DeMarinis, director of candidacy and campaign finance for the state Board of Elections, said the issue would be referred to the attorney general, but that a ballot circulating from non-elected officials is common during an election cycle and the agency has few options to stop it.

"In the past, there were organizations that tried to confuse voters," he said. "Those organizations have the right to do it."

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler issued a statement Sunday denouncing the circulation of the ballots and said the matter would be investigated.

"Unfortunately, in past elections we have seen deceitful campaign behavior, and we have already seen it this election cycle, where brochures have misused the good names and images of state and local leaders to imply that they have endorsed candidates when they did not," he said in a statement. "Tactics involving communications designed to dissuade and mislead voters and to suppress votes are wrong."

Muse issued his own senatorial sample ballot for District 26 last month. He said the Citizens for Change ballot resembles his own District 26 team ballot, which includes endorsements for County Council, Maryland House of Delegates and the Prince George's County school board. Muse's ballot endorses Obie Patterson for District 8 County Council, while the ballot circulated by Citizens for Change endorses Mathis. For county executive, Muse's ballot endorses Rushern L. Baker, while the ballot circulated by Citizens for Change endorses current Councilman Samuel H. Dean (D-Dist. 6) of Mitchellville.

The Citizens for Change ballot includes the names and offices of elected officials and candidates running for election, with the names of candidates the group is endorsing checked off. The names of Del. Kris Valderrama (D-Dist. 26) of Fort Washington, Mathis, and District 26 Senate candidate Albert Chatmon all appear checked off on the ballot. Muse has accused them of being behind the circulation.

"My core issue is that it's illegal," he said. "If you're outside of the law, you have no right to be a lawmaker."

Mathis said a resident group does not have to be registered with the Board of Elections to circulate campaign literature because it's freedom of speech.

Both Valderrama and Chatmon denied being behind the ballot.

Mathis said the ballot is designed to allow candidates, including himself, who are not part of slate-politics, on which elected officials endorse other candidates for office on ballots that are sent out in mass to registered voters, to be competitive in the election.

"My opponents think it's deceptive. I think it's very good political strategy," Mathis said. "In politics, you must use every tool at your disposal. We're breaking the slate that controls the votes."

On Monday, Muse said he contacted the Prince George's County Police Department and sheriff's office to halt Mathis' campaign from passing ballots to voters at Oxon Hill library.

"It's unethical," he said. "After today, they won't be handing [the ballot] out."

On Monday, Muse confirmed, he called the Prince George's County sheriff's office to the Oxon Hill library to stop the ballot from being distributed, although the deputies were unsuccessful.

However, supporters of Mathis and Valderrama, who is Filipino, say they are outraged that, shortly after 3 p.m. Monday, a deputy began questioning Filipino voters and rival candidates, collecting identification information and inquiring about their citizenship.

Trevor Otts, who is running the County Council District 8, was campaigning along Oxon Hill Road near the library when he said police began to question him and asked if he was a citizen.

"The sheriff's [office] was walking around asking to see people's IDs, asking if they were legal," he said. "It shook people up. It was bona fide voter intimidation. [Muse] was using the sheriff's [office] as his personal army."

Sheriff's office Col. Marc Givens confirmed that a deputy did come to Oxon Hill library on reports of an altercation but could not confirm whether the deputy had inquired about voters' citizenship. Givens said he ordered the deputy to stop collecting information after receiving a call from Mathis.

"[The deputy] didn't understand what was going on. She was trying to sort it out the best way she could," Givens said. "Apparently, there was a misunderstanding of what her responsibilities were."

jgarner@gazette.net