WARREN — The Trumbull County Board of Elections agreed to ask the Federal Election Commission, the Ohio Elections Commission and the Ohio Secretary of State’s Office to investigate the activities of a political action committee during this past primary election.

The board voted 4-0 during a Thursday special meeting to forward documentation about the actions of the TCR Grassroots PAC to the three agencies. The board first will have the Trumbull County Prosecutor’s Office “provide us procedural guidance” to determine if the requests are compliant, said Mark Alberini, board chairman and head of the county Democratic Party.

Board member Marleah Campbell, who is also the county Republican Party’s secretary, outlined the complaint against TCR she said was initially compiled by the local GOP over concerns of election interference by the PAC and will be adjusted as soon as today to become the board’s request for investigations.

“There’s a lot of improprieties, a lot of questionable things that went on,” Campbell said.

Campbell said the complaint states between Feb. 20 and March 12, the PAC mailed 1,140 slate cards to absentee voters, worth at least $1,000 in postage costs, and the PAC wasn’t registered with any entity for virtually that entire time.

A statement of organization, signed by Regina McManus, a political consultant, on March 11 and filed with the FEC, lists her as the PAC’s treasurer and designated agent. The PAC filed a statement of organization with the secretary of state March 29 and filed a finance report with the same office April 15 showing it raised and spent no money.

The PAC has not submitted a designation of treasurer with the county board of elections.

During early voting, McManus and others distributed slate cards of recommended candidates, primarily for county and judicial offices. It also included recommendations for two state House seats and one U.S. House race.

Slate cards are not considered expenditures under federal law.

The board met March 19, the day of the primary, to request the county prosecutor file complaints with investigative agencies on behalf of the board. The prosecutor’s office subsequently told the board it doesn’t file complaints for its clients. The prosecutor’s office then sent a letter April 1 to the board stating it would offer assistance in identifying the proper entities for review and the board held off a day later on a vote wanting to spend time reviewing that letter.

The board decided Thursday to move forward with formally asking for investigations.

Campbell and McManus are political opponents within the local Republican Party.

Campbell said, “I was accused of making this a target, a witch hunt. This has nothing to do with personalities or people. This is about investigating a complaint, referring a complaint, and I am completely impartial.”

She added, “It’s about election integrity.”

Reached after Thursday’s meeting, McManus said, “Mrs. Campbell has publicly vowed revenge on me through emails and social media, and slanders and belittles anyone who disagrees with her. For her to say she is impartial with a straight face is laughable. I am confident the PAC has dotted every I and crossed every T. Marleah is using her board position to attack a political opponent. We welcome any inquiry into the PAC and will continue to work for conservative candidates in all races.”

McManus added, “The appropriate and legal response for the board should have been if any individual, including Marleah Campbell, feels injured by a group supporting conservative winning candidates then they should take their concerns to the FEC and not ask the board to be a vehicle for their personal vendetta.”

McManus said she will be speaking to a lawyer “regarding this blatant attempt to suppress our First Amendment rights and free speech.”

During the meeting, Alberini said the elections board is not an investigative body, nor a “complaint vehicle,” and if someone has an issue with a PAC, that person should file complaints with the appropriate investigative agencies on their own.

But the board received numerous complaints about TCR Grassroots that it was obligated to look into who should investigate, Alberini said.

Board member Arno Hill, a Republican, said the board needed to do “follow up on this just because if we don’t, it’s going to continue. People are going to get real nervy and say, ‘Hey, nothing happened before. Let’s do it again.'”