Office of the Attorney General: A.G. KING CALLS ON JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO COOPERATE IN ELECTION FRAUD INVESTIGATION

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 23, 2008

For More Information, Contact:
Joy Patterson 334.242.7491
Suzanne Webb 334.242.7351


(MONTGOMERY)--Attorney General Troy King today urged the U.S. Justice Department to be more forthcoming in cooperating with his office about alleged improprieties in the recent primary election. Speaking at a news conference in his office, Attorney General King also discussed actions he has taken to fight election fraud and called upon the citizens of Alabama to help.

"Honest fair elections are the foundation upon which democracy rests," Attorney General King stated. "Violations of these laws are not just crimes against a candidate, or a political party, or even the voter whose vote was stolen, they are crimes against all of us, they are crimes against democracy itself. I have made it a priority to see that Alabamians can have confidence in the results of our elections. During my first year as Attorney General we began an investigation into allegations of voter fraud occurring in several counties throughout the state, and what we uncovered is a shocking amount of systemic, institutionalized corruption."

Attorney General King described how his office's investigation began in Hale County where, "from the very moment we started over four years ago, we encountered deception, deceit, and intimidation. The intimidation was so severe that, at one point, one of my investigators was arrested and put in jail for doing his job.

Throughout this process, we have met with a number of concerned citizens and tried to reassure them that we had not forgotten about Hale County, that the integrity of their elections was as important as those anywhere else in our state. Today, we are getting closer to holding accountable those who would try to steal our elections."

On August 16, 2007, Attorney General King presented evidence to a grand jury of charges related to voter fraud in Hale County. The grand jury indicted these two individuals and they were arrested by the Attorney General's Office. Rosie Lyles and Valada Page Banks each were charged with four felony counts of promoting illegal absentee voting and one felony count of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument. One of these counts involved a Hale County Democratic primary election held on October 26, 2004, and three of these counts involved a Hale County special Democratic primary election held on May 3, 2005. Both defendants are currently awaiting trial.

Attorney General King's investigations in Hale County also resulted in the arrest and indictment of a third individual on thirteen felony counts, including criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, and perjury in the first degree. The defendant in this case is Gay Nell Tinker.

"Our quest for honest elections has now led us into Perry, Bullock, and Lowndes counties as well," said Attorney General King.

On June 5, the Attorney General's Office served subpoenas upon Perry County election officials and took custody of records relating to the June 3rd primary election after receiving allegations of illegal activities at the polls there. This included records such as applications for absentee ballots, poll lists, identification accompanying absentee ballots, affidavits accompanying absentee ballots, records of elections, ballot accounting sheets, sign-in sheets from each polling place, and the clerk's book for each polling place.

Attorney General's agents served similar subpoenas for election records in Bullock County on June 10, and on June 16 in Lowndes County, after Attorney General King's office received complaints of voter fraud and election irregularities in the June 3rd primary in those counties.

"Since I became Attorney General, I have fought voter fraud and corrupt elections all over the state. But it has not been easy. The resistance I encountered has not just come from those who seek to steal elections in Alabama—it has also come from the federal government."

Attorney General King went on to recount that, "Upon the advice of my office, election officials in Perry County contacted the U.S. Department of Justice and requested that federal officials come and monitor the June 3rd primary elections. The Justice Department sent observers, who reported their concerns to Alabama election officials and media outlets. They have, however, refused to cooperate with our office in any way. I have asked the Department of Justice to provide us with copies of their report from June 3rd, and rather than forthright cooperation, we have become entangled in bureaucratic red tape. So now, I publicly call upon the Justice Department to expeditiously help us stop voter fraud in Alabama by providing us with copies of the report made of those irregularities they witnessed during the June 3rd primary election in Perry County."

Attorney General King asked the citizens of Alabama to join in his struggle to protect their elections. "We have fought our way through every obstacle, and with dogged determination. We will overcome these federal obstacles as well as we continue to move closer to bringing an end to election fraud in Alabama. But we cannot do it alone. We cannot do it without the help of the people of Alabama, who also want honest and fair elections. We need your help."

The Attorney General issued a call to those people who have participated in, witnessed, or had any involvement in possible illegal voting practices in the June 3rd primaries in Perry, Bullock, and Lowndes counties: "Now is the time to come forward and cooperate. My office has set up a hotline for you to call and provide any information you may have. That toll free number is 1-800-831-8814. With your help, we will identify those who have rigged our elections, and hold them fully accountable for their crimes. All of Alabama can rest assured of this – our state's elections will be honest and fair. We will not rest until it is so."