Alexander County commissioner to lead effort to block unqualified voters

CAIRO, Ill. -- There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that in the past, things weren't quite right in Cairo elections.

So on Tuesday, Alexander County Commissioner Angela Greenwell will lead a painstakingly detailed effort to block anyone who isn't qualified to cast a ballot from voting. Along with a small group of supporters, Greenwell has researched every voter on the Cairo registration lists and built a computer spreadsheet that includes dozens of notes indicating those who have moved out of town, registered to vote from vacant buildings or died.

"I am getting poised," said Greenwell, a supporter of incumbent Mayor Paul Farris. "You better believe it. All that hard work for all those years is going to pay off."

A review of absentee ballots already cast for Tuesday's municipal primary shows that two people who listed their address as a burned-out home have already voted, Greenwell said. Another voted listing an address that hasn't had utilities since 2001, she added.

Past efforts to combat voter fraud have relied on candidates or designated poll watchers who knew their neighborhoods. But no one has systematically reviewed every registration prior to an election in preparation for challenging voters, Greenwell said.

"This is way above and beyond what has been done in the past," she said.

Once a voter is challenged, it is up to the election judges to decide whether to allow a ballot to be cast. Cairo Councilman Joey Thurston, who isn't seeking a new term, said he's had mixed success attempting to challenge voters.

But Thurston said he is confident Greenwell's lists are more of an indication of a poorly managed voter list than evidence that a major effort to manipulate the election is underway. "She thinks there is a ton of stuff going on and there's not," he said.

The problem with Cairo's voting system, he said, is that the registration list "needs to be purged."

-- Rudi Keller