It appears Pleasant Valley School Board President Nikhil Wagle is under investigation for assisting voters with ballots despite being a candidate on the ballot himself.
A source within the district told The Iowa Standard about something they witnessed at the polling place on Election Day last week. We reached out to the Scott County Auditor, Scott County Sheriff and Wagle to seek clarification.
The Scott County Sheriff’s Office took a report at 1:37 p.m. on Election Day at Pleasant View Baptist Church. The incident report lacks any meaningful details due to the case being open. If charges and/or arrests are filed, the case will not be public record until all court activity is finished.
Kerri Tompkins, the Scott County Auditor, told The Iowa Standard she cannot comment on an ongoing investigation when asked about the incidents involving Wagle.
Wagle, for his part, told The Iowa Standard the only people he helped were family members. Both family members were in-laws — one who he said filled out the ballot but the poll worker was worried the bubbles weren’t dark enough and another who is hard of hearing and has a tremor, so he assisted the in-law throughout the voting process.
“Any support given was in the capacity of being a close family member,” Wagle said.
Wagle had one opponent for his District 3 seat. He won the seat with 660 votes while his opponent received 393 votes.
