Hardin County Election Commission reports voting problem incident to state
Prospective early voter told he had already cast his ballot
The Hardin County Election Commission has reported a mistake or possible incident of voter fraud to the state.
Local Administrator of Elections Kim Melson said when a Hardin County man showed up Tuesday during the early voting period to vote, records showed that his registration had already been used on Oct. 17 to cast a ballot in the Nov. 5 election.
That doesn’t mean the man won’t get to participate in the election, however. Melson said Thursday that he was given a provisional ballot and “we have the proof that we need for his vote to count.”
The incident report to the Tennessee State Election Commission says it is “undetermined” whether a person intentionally used the man’s registration or if it is a mistake by the voting official.
Regarding the investigation into the situation, “Anything that I have, I will turn over to the district attorney’s office,” Melson told The Courier.
The report says that as a corrective measure, election officials can review the process for comparing the name and photo on photo ID cards to ensure the person before them is the correct voter. Election officials can also have the voter applicant review the name and address on the application before voting.
