convey federal interest in assuming an appropriate law enforcement role with respect to electoral corruption, and to make federal assets and personnel available to assist the states in such matters. On election day – • In each district, the District Election Officer receives and handles election fraud allegations. • FBI Special Agents are made available in each district to receive election-related complaints from all sources. • If warranted, the District Election Officer or United States Attorney may request the FBI to interview a person who alleges that an election crime has occurred. However, care must be taken to ensure that the interview does not affect the election itself. To avoid this potential danger, overt investigation of election-related allegations, other than taking statements from complaining witnesses, ordinarily occurs after the election is over. • In Washington, prosecutors in the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section are available as long as polls remain open, to provide advice to United States Attorneys, District Election Officers, and FBI personnel. Special attention is given to preserving evidence that may lose its integrity with the passage of time. • Under certain circumstances, FBI Headquarters may authorize its agents to conduct covert operations before, during, or after the election upon request of the Public Integrity Section. However, such operations must be predicated on preexisting evidence that observable or otherwise detectable illegal activities (such as vote- 119