- (a) Upon the reception of a complaint, the Secretary of State’s office shall assign a case number to the complaint and establish a file wherein all evidence, complaints, responses to complaints, and any other relevant information to the complaint shall be stored.
- (b) If, during the course of the investigation, the Secretary of State's office has reason to believe that any person who filed or caused to be filed a complaint against another which he or she knows or should know contains a false material allegation, the Secretary of State's office may forward all documents and other evidence of same to the appropriate law enforcement authority with such recommendations as it deems appropriate.
(c)
- (1) The staff investigating the complaint shall, upon conclusion of the investigation or upon a time of the Secretary of State’s request, submit a report of the investigation and provide a suggested determination to the Secretary of State.
(2) Such determinations may include, but are not limited to:
- (A) Sufficient evidence exists for a final determination that a violation has occurred;
- (B) Sufficient evidence exists for a final determination that a violation has not occurred
- (C) Further investigation by staff is needed; or
- (D) That there is evidence that a potential criminal, civil, or regulatory violation has occurred and that the matter shall be referred to the federal, state, or local law enforcement or other governing body with the proper jurisdiction over the potential violation.
- (d) The Secretary of State shall notify the complainant and the respondent that his or her determination has been made.