Posted on 11/02/2002 9:01:46 PM PST by jern
The Associated Press
MARSHALL, N.C.(AP) - Federal agents are investigating allegations of election fraud after reports that about 30 absentee ballots were mailed to the brother of a clerk of court candidate in Madison County.
The Madison County Board of Elections has decided not to count more than 50 ballots - including those sent to the brother of Clerk of Court Tim Cantrell.
The remaining ballots were mailed to another Madison County resident.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Edwards declined to talk in detail about the investigation.
Cantrell, seeking his second term in the office, said his brother received the ballots as part of an effort to improve voter turnout.
"He's a supporter of mine, and I'm sure he's trying to help get the vote out. He's a hard worker," Cantrell said. "I don't think there's any concern or any problem about ballots being sent to him."
According to county voter records, the ballots each were registered to a different individual.
The ballots were delivered to a single address for the convenience of the voters, Tim Cantrell said. He declined to comment about whether he had handled any of the ballots.
Delivering an absentee ballot to a voter or having anyone other than the voter, a near relative or a legal guardian return it the county board of elections is a felony in North Carolina.
Tracy Bridges, spokeswoman for the Madison County Republican Party, said party workers frequently check the absentee voter list. Last week, they noticed that numerous ballots were being mailed to two addresses.
"I can't have my request mailed to your house and have you bring the ballot to me. That's against the law," Bridges said. "You can't go to a middleman."
Mark Cody, Madison County Board of Elections chairman, said about 40 of the absentee ballots had been completed and returned.
Cody said board members had carefully compared signatures on the voter registration cards and absentee ballot request forms against required signatures on the ballot envelopes, he said. They found no problems.
Still, the board decided to throw out the ballots, even though Cody said he was confident that the intended voters filled out their own ballots. The voters won't be banned from voting at a polling site.
"We couldn't determine who actually handled those ballots," Cody said. "We didn't want to disenfranchise any voters and not give them a chance to go to the polls."
Information from: Asheville Citizen-Times
"Still, the board decided to throw out the ballots, even though Cody said he was confident that the intended voters filled out their own ballots. The voters won't be banned from voting at a polling site."
It is not going to get any better as long as this is the case.
A quick check of the internet reveals that Tim Cantrell is running for Clerk of the Superior Court of Madison County as a ............. Rat.
< /extreme sarcasm >
I know this is a silly question but are there going to be any prosecutions?
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