Brendan J. Lyons reports in the Times Union that a federal grand jury investigation that has focused on the handling of absentee ballot documents by numerous Renssleaer County officials is nearing an end after a year, and more charges could be filed soon. The newspaper says two anonymous people claim further charges are coming. So far, the investigation has led to guilty pleas from former Troy Councilperson Kimberly Ashe-McPherson and Jason T. Schofield, the county's former Republican elections commissioner. While it is unknown what future charges could come, "the federal investigation has recently focused on campaign work by county employees who work under the direction of Richard W. Crist, the county's operations director and a longtime GOP operative and political consultant. Investigators also have examined absentee ballot documents handled by Jim Gordon, the county's director of purchasing," the story says. A theme of the investigation has been county employees doing political campaign work, mostly about absentee ballots. Nationally, Republicans have railed against absentee ballots, but in Rensselaer County, local Republicans clearly spent much time on getting them counted. Read more about this story in the Times Union.