By Candice Ludlow
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-922996.mp3
Memphis, TN – The Shelby County Election Commission met with their attorneys behind closed doors Thursday at the Operations Center in East Memphis to discuss the case accusing the Commission of serious voter irregularities in the August 5th election. Candice Ludlow reports that the commissioners, Democrat and Republican, refute claims about voter irregularities.
Bill Gianinni is the Chair of the Election Commission. He's also Republican.
"I look forward to the court date on the 17th. I feel very good about where we are as we've maintained from day one. There was one specific issue on August 5th that was addressed very early in the morning by the Election Commission, and we believe that the outcome of this election is certain. We feel confident in that, and we look forward to our day in court," Gianinni said.
Early on Election Day, voters started getting turned away from the polls because they were told they had already voted, but they had not. The Commission told the press before noon that day they had identified the problem. The IT Director had inadvertently loaded the May early voting data into the electronic poll books for the August election.
Ten losing Democratic candidates joined together to contest the election after their forensics investigation revealed many voter irregularities: more votes cast than participating voters, a ghost election running behind the scenes in the electronic election system, and voters were turned away from the polls throughout the day.
They've asked the court to step in and oversee the entire election process for the upcoming November 2nd election, from election preparation through early voting until all the votes are counted.
The Election Commission denies all charges except that the electronic poll books were erroneously loaded with the wrong early voting data.