Nearly a year after supporters of Mayor Ed Lee's campaign were smacked with accusations of voter fraud, District Attorney Gascón has decided there is insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges. In the October lead-up to last year's mayoral election, Lee supporters in Chinatown were caught on video placing stencils over ballots and filling them out for voters.

The makeshift voting station, remember, had been set up by the innocuously named SF Neighbor Alliance — helmed by political consultant Enrique Pearce — the man also responsible for the "Run, Ed, Run" campaign. At the time, Pearce said the SF Neighbor Alliance had been teaching people about ranked choice voting and getting people registered to vote.

In a statement provided by his office, Gascón explained: "Although we determined there is insufficient evidence to support a criminal prosecution in this matter, as the district attorney, I am concerned about these allegations and, indeed, any allegations of voter fraud."

Political consultant Jim Stearns, who headed up much of Leland Yee's rival mayoral effort, told the Chronicle that Gascón's decision to drop the case "just confirms that this is an investigation that shouldn't have been entrusted to District Attorney Gascón in the first place. ... He was on the ballot. He was one of the candidates that these voters were being encouraged to vote illegally for."

Previously: Ed Lee Campaign Accused of Voting Fraud
[Chron]