“Representative Stephen “Stat” Smith, a Democrat first elected in 2006, submitted a letter Monday to Secretary of State William F. Galvin, saying that he was vacating his seat, effective Jan. 1.

The letter, just a few sentences long, did not make any mention of the charges that were brought against him. It will be read aloud at Wednesday’s legislative session.

Smith, 57, did not return a phone call to his home or respond to e-mail requests for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Federal prosecutors allege that Smith submitted fraudulent absentee ballots in advance of municipal and state elections in 2009 and 2010.

According to a Dec. 20 statement from the US attorney’s office , Smith allegedly submitted fraudulent requests for absentee ballots, then cast those ballots on behalf of voters without their knowledge. Prosecutors say Smith also knowingly delivered absentee ballots to ineligible voters, knowing that their votes in his favor would be fraudulent.

Smith was charged with two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.  . . .

The December statement from the US attorney’s office said “one or more government officials assisted Smith in intercepting the ballots prior to their delivery to the voters’ addresses.”

“Obviously I’m very interested in this,” Galvin said. “If there is an issue of any illegal activity in Everett, I want to know the details before there’s another election involving Everett.”

Galvin said his office has received little information on who those government officials were, and to what extent they were involved in the fraud.

Galvin said officials in the US attorney’s office have said that details about accomplices will not come out until after Smith enters his guilty plea, and did not give a timeline for when that will happen. Galvin said he is pushing for federal prosecutors to clarify the involvement of any other public officials — whether they be election officials or elected leaders — in advance of the vote for a new Everett representative. “