Recent Tennessee Voter Fraud Could Jeopardize Election Results

Tennessee officials have uncovered clear evidence of voter fraud so significant that they may refuse to certify the election. The fraudulent voters had already cast their absentee ballots before they also decided to appear at the polls on Election Day. The election worker for Davidson County was fired in the wake of this revelation, and Tennessee Election Commissioner Mark Goins has recommended referring the fraudulent voters to prosecutors.

Election Commissioner Tricia Herzfeld wants answers about reports of wider irregularities before she certifies the vote tally. This case surrounds the negligent updating of electronic poll books by Omaha-based Election Systems & Software LLC. This oversight was only later discovered on Election Day. Furthermore, this is the second complaint that Davidson County has received with respect to the ES&S since August 2012. In 2012, residents called for Davidson County to terminate its contract with the outside vendor after registered Democrats received Republican ballots. The Tennessean writes:

“In a letter to election administrator Kent Wall sent Monday, Herzfeld also criticized fellow commissioners and staff for not talking about potential irregularities, including the possibility that some people were not allowed to vote. ‘The public has a right to be informed of these discoveries and the candidates, in particular, deserve to know if anything that occurred on Election Day could impact their races,’ Herzfeld wrote.”

Despite these problems, Commissioner Goins refuses to hold ES&S accountable, claiming that, “Other counties have had good working relationships (with ES&S)…” Commissioner Goins went on to say, “…ES&S should not shoulder the blame alone for this latest error, because the now-fired staffer did not cross check early voting tallies against electronic poll books. If he had, the firm's mistake would have been discovered.”

However, Herzfeld has made repeated requests for an emergency meeting regarding reports of lost voting histories, double voting, and voters being turned away. The Tennessee Election Commission will take up this most recent case of fraud at their next meeting on May, 19.