The Sevier County Election Commission voted Wednesday to have its attorney acknowledge in court that there were flaws in the voting on the Pigeon Forge Liquor by the Drink referendum, admitting issues that could cause Chancellor Telford Forgety to toss the results of the Nov. 6 election on that issue and call for a revote. The election commission met late Wednesday afternoon, hours ahead of the start of proceedings today where Forgety would review a contest of election filed by the organization that campaigned against the measure. Shortly after the meeting started, the commission voted to approve a motion to “instruct our attorney to stipulate the results of the Pigeon Forge referendum are incurable with no finding of fraud.”
Forgety would have grounds to reject the election results if he finds the outcome is rendered “incurably uncertain,” or finds there were enough confirmed cases of fraud to justify tossing the result.
By conceding the outcome of the election was rendered uncertain due to improper votes, the commission appears to acknowledge the election should be retried. Forgety still must rule on the matter.
“It would appear that their vote this afternoon was to go ahead and stipulate to the chancellor that in the opinion of the election commission the result was incurably uncertain,” Election Commission attorney Dennis Francis said outside the meeting room.
The commission is acknowledging that some of the poll workers allowed ineligible voters to cast ballots in the city election, but is not acknowledging any claims of voter fraud, he said.
Full Article: Election Commission admits mistakes | The Mountain Press.