Wednesday, January 10, 2001
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Wednesday, January 10, 2001 |
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Some allege absentee ballot fraud
By MONROE ROARK
Were there shenanigans involved in Fayetteville's liquor referendum? A group of local residents thinks so. After two months of discussion on the city's liquor ordinance, the small group of residents protested the City Council's decision to vote Monday on the issue, saying there is a possibility there was fraudulent election activity. Two residents addressed the council and referred to a November article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published the week after the Nov. 7 liquor referendum passed. In the article, local businessman Lane Brown, who campaigned openly for the referendum to pass, was quoted as saying he encouraged voters to cast absentee ballots in the city election so they would not have the inconvenience of voting in two locations that day. The liquor referendum was conducted the same day as the General Election, and city residents had to cast their city votes at The Depot while going to their regular county polling places to vote for local and national candidates. Voters requesting absentee ballots must certify that they meet the criteria for absentee voting, such as being unable to travel to the polls on Election Day or being over the age of 65. Casting an absentee ballot otherwise would constitute election fraud. One Fayetteville resident said that he was concerned over the City Council's apparent desire to go ahead and vote on the ordinance when the possibility of this type of activity exists. Another resident, holding a list of what she said were absentee voters, accused the council of "putting blinders on" and ignoring this issue. Monday night's meeting was the first time this issue had been raised at a council meeting since the election. Council members responded quickly, saying that they were following the law as their offices required, regardless of whether they liked the idea of a liquor ordinance in Fayetteville. Mayor Kenneth Steele said that the county is authorized by the city to conduct the election, and the city has no reason to suspect fraud. The statute of limitations for filing a complaint such as this is five days, according to City Clerk Judy Stephens, and she said that her office has received no complaints at all about this election. "You need to go through the proper legal channels" to pursue this matter, Councilman Bill Talley told the audience members, saying that the council has legal requirements it must follow. Councilman Larry Dell, responding to the allegations that the council was ignoring the issue, said that the ordinance had been studied for 60 days since the November elections, including public discussions at several council meetings, and this was the first time this type of protest had been heard. Various council members have made it known during the past two months that they were not in favor of legalizing liquor by the drink in Fayetteville, but the referendum was passed and their legal duty is to honor the wishes of the voters. "I voted against it," said Walt White, elected mayor pro tempore at the beginning of Monday's meeting. "But it's the law, and if it's done the right way, we have to pass it." There was no public comment about the ordinance itself before it passed 4-0.
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