Election Fraud Cases

Kenny Ray Bowen and Billy Street

Kenny Ray Bowen and Billy Street both pleaded guilty to two counts of voter fraud in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. They were the last of 16 individuals who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of voter fraud in an elaborate electioneering operation. Both men were sentenced to five years, with four-and-a-half years suspended, six months to serve under house arrest, and four-and-a-half years under post-release supervision. Bowen and Street were also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l3BSxt, https://herit.ag/3xbrEh0

Jasper Buggs, Sr., James Bullock, and Ronnie Wilkerson

Jasper Buggs, Sr., James Bullock, and Ronnie Wilkerson pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. Buggs pleaded guilty to two counts of voter fraud, Bullock pleaded guilty to five counts of voter fraud, and Wilkerson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud. All three men were sentenced to five years, with four years suspended and one year to serve under house arrest on each count, all the counts to run concurrently. They were also sentenced to four years of post-release supervision and were ordered to pay a $1,000 fine to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zMygV3 , https://herit.ag/2VbUjFu

Jerry Huck Childers, Cooper Epps, David Massey, Arnold Rooker, Sr., and Stanley Maurice Warren

Jerry Huck Childers, Cooper Epps, David Massey, Arnold Rooker, Sr., and Stanley Maurice Warren all pleaded guilty to voter fraud charges in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding the 2007 Benton County election. They were part of ring of 16 individuals who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of voter fraud in an elaborate electioneering operation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rBsVgh , https://herit.ag/2TBA9US , https://herit.ag/3f22pr8

Tate King, Henry Massey, and Lillie Jean Norton

Benton County supervisor Tate King was convicted of committing voter fraud after he paid people to vote for him in the 2007 primary and runoff elections. Eleven others who were also under investigation in connection with this matter have also either pleaded guilty or been convicted. He was sentenced to one year in prison, two years on house arrest, and two years of supervised release, in addition to a $5,000 fine. Norton received three years' supervised probation, and Massey received one year of house arrest and two years of supervised release.

Source: https://herit.ag/3yarVSD, https://herit.ag/3rEwDWv , https://herit.ag/372H5gX

Larry "Tip" Massey

Larry "Tip" Massey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit voter fraud in connection with his involvement in a 2007 Benton County election vote-buying scheme. He was sentenced to five years in prison, although three of those years were suspended. He will serve two years in prison and another two under supervised probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rGpEwm

James Lester Thompson

James Lester Thompson of Madison County, Mississippi pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of voting by an unqualified person. He was sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service and six months' unsupervised probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x8Kohp

Clint Moffitt and Ada Tucker

Clint Moffitt, candidate for Benton County Sheriff, and Ada Tucker were convicted of conspiracy to commit voter fraud in the 2007 primary and runoff elections. Tucker was sentenced to five years, with the first year in prison, second year under house arrest, and three years under supervised release. Moffitt received two years in prison, one under house arrest, and two years of supervised release. Both were ordered to pay $5,000 in fines.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rETQYM, https://herit.ag/374fSuw

Jerry Kennamore

Jerry Kennamore, a 2009 New Albany mayoral candidate, pleaded guilty to forging the name of his daughter as an attesting witness on an absentee ballot during the May 2009 Democratic primary. Kennamore's plea was held in abeyance pending completion of five years of unsupervised probation and payment of a $1,000 fine plus court costs.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BQhQNg

Ike Brown

In a civil case filed by the federal government, Ike Brown, former Chairman of the Noxubee County Democratic Executive Committee and Superintendent of Democratic Primary Elections, was found to have violated Section Two of the Voting Rights Act through racially motivated manipulation of ballots. Brown, who started chairing the Commission in 2000, obtained and improperly counted defective absentee ballots, and allowed for improper "assistance" of voters to ensure that white political candidates lost and black candidates won. He was permanently enjoined from engaging in such conduct in the future, and an independent administrator was appointed to ensure compliance.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iOfZzE , https://herit.ag/3i8YZoQ, https://herit.ag/3l6sp8L

Martha Gardner

Martha Gardner pleaded guilty to one count of voter fraud in connection with absentee ballot misconduct during the 2005 Houston mayoral Democratic primary. Witnesses alleged that Gardner had come to them with absentee ballots they did not request and marked the ballots for them. Gardner was initially indicted on 37 counts of voter fraud. A judge imposed a five-year suspended sentence and put Gardner on 30 months of probation. Gardner was also ordered to pay $391.50 in court costs, $100 of which would go to the Crime Victim's Compensation Fund.

Source: https://herit.ag/3j9Zgan

Jerry Lyles, Jr.

Jerry Lyles, Jr., a candidate for District 1 Supervisor in Adams County for the 2004 election, pleaded guilty to one count of completing a voter registration application for a voter in the wrong district. Lyles was sentenced to one year of probation, and at the end of that year his record was expunged.

Source: bit.ly/2eZdOKa, bit.ly/2f5TyED

Minnie Saulsberry

Minnie Saulsberry pleaded guilty to both conspiracy to commit voter fraud and voter fraud after she traded beer, gas, and cash for votes in a run-off election for Tallahatchee County supervisor.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i73osb , https://herit.ag/2ULc6Uh, https://herit.ag/2VisqLO

William Greg Eason

A Tallahatchie County jury found William Greg Eason guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit voter fraud and eight counts of voter fraud in connection with his work on Jerome Little's campaign to be District Five Supervisor for Tallahatchie County in a 2003 run-off election. Eason promised items of value (beer and money) to induce people to vote fraudulently by absentee ballot. Eason was sentenced to serve one year in prison for conspiracy to commit voter fraud, and a second year-long sentence plus seven concurrent one-year sentences for the eight counts of voter fraud. Eason's imprisonment totaled two years. His conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BQhRAO

Elberta Brown, Leon Hunt, and Tobe Jackson

Elberta Brown, Leon Hunt, and Tobe Jackson pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted bribery in connection with their involvement in a vote-buying scheme surrounding a 2001 special election for Benton County Sheriff. All three engaged in vote-buying by offering $30 to individuals in an attempt to influence them to vote for Steven A. Thompson, a candidate in that election. Three of the individuals who received the money were undercover law enforcement officers. The investigations indicated that they tried to bribe upwards of 50 people on election day. All three faced a maximum sentence of six years in prison and a $3,000 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BLm2xE

Calvin McFarland

Calvin McFarland, an incumbent running for re-election to the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors, was convicted on two counts relating to illegally signing absentee ballots. McFarland, a Democrat, lost in the primary, and after a lengthy series of runoffs and challenges, was indicted along with 13 other then-current and former county officials. McFarland was charged with six counts of falsely signing names to ballots, and was convicted of two. One of them charged McFarland with signing a ballot in the name of 'Lottie James,' and then falsely attesting that James' signature was valid. For each charge, McFarland was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. One of the prison sentences was suspended.

Source: https://herit.ag/3nozWiE