Ford takes Senate seat: Committee delays; Republicans seek to void election

By Brett Wainger, The Millington Star
January 16, 2006

Ophelia Ford took her seat as a member of the Tennessee Senate Tuesday, after a six-person committee investigating apparent voting irregularities in the District 29 election chose to delay its recommendation in the matter.

Sen. Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said late Tuesday that he and other senators oppose her provisional seating.

Norris said Republican leader Ron Ramsey filed a resolution this morning calling for the Senate to void the election. It is scheduled for debate on Thursday, he said.

The Senate committee charged with sifting through results from the election, which Ford opponent and Millington businessman Terry Roland is contesting, voted 4-2 Monday to postpone making a recommendation to the full Senate.

The committee instead chose to pursue a request made last week by Roland representatives to have District 29 voters cross-checked against a national Social Security database of deceased Tennesseans.

Ford took her seat when the Senate convened at 11 a.m. yesterday.

She defeated Roland by 13 votes, according to results certified in September. But last month, it was revealed that two voters had been cast in the names of dead people. Before that, the Shelby County Election Commission said at least one vote could have been cast by a convicted felon who did not have his rights restored. The Roland campaign alleges dozens of other illegal votes.

“I want to remove any and all doubt about this election,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Michael Williams, R-Maynardville, who supported the cross-check.

“If there are more (dead) voters than what we've had thus far - if it gets above what they call the magic number - the 13 votes that (Ford) won by - then you can void the election,” he said. “That makes it easy.”

Williams added that he would reconvene the committee as soon as State Election Coordinator Brook Thompson completes the cross-check.

A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probe into possible criminal action during the election is also ongoing. Also present at Monday's committee meeting, Williams said, were two District 29 voters who were concerned their votes might be disqualified because they failed to follow proper signature procedures.

David Cocke, an attorney representing Ophelia Ford, said he thinks the votes of those who failed to sign the ballet application or poll book should count.

“The issue really is, ‘Is this a problem with the voter, and should the voter be disenfranchised because election (officials) just didn't dot their Is and cross their Ts.”

But Roland said decision-makers should disqualify the votes of people who failed to sign poll books or ballots, because the voters did not follow the law.

“If the shoe was on the other foot, I guarantee they'd want to go by the law,” he said.