EMERSON ASKS FOR ABSENTEE VOTE FRAUD PROBE

U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson has asked three federal agencies to investigate alleged absentee ballot fraud in Butler County.

Last week Butler County Prosecutor Ernie Richardson filed charges after a woman complained her absentee vote was reported different from what she had voted.

Jerry Sullivan, 66, has notarized about 70 absentee ballots in the county.

There is concern that some of those ballots might have been cast contrary to the wishes of the voter.

Sullivan has notarized about half of the absentee ballots cast so far for the Nov. 8 general election.

Sullivan has denied the charges.

But Eddeena Becker, 65, who filed the complaint, said she wanted to vote a straight Republican ticket.

Rather than allow Sullivan to mail the ballot, she kept it to mail, but checked later only to discover he had voted a straight Democratic ballot for her.

Emerson said he decided to intervene after receiving phone calls from people in Poplar Bluff who read about the woman's complaint in an Oct. 20 issue of the Daily American Republic.

"This could affect 70 ballots that we know about," Emerson said. "People must be confident of the sanctity of their ballot. We want to make absolutely certain there is no fraud or tampering in the election process."

On Wednesday, Emerson sent identical letters to U.S. Attorney Edward Dowd, Attorney General Janet Reno and FBI Director Louis Freeh and enclosed a copy of the newspaper article.

"Given the time sensitive disposition of this charge and the fast approaching election date, your immediate oversight into this election is both needed and warranted," Emerson wrote.

Although state charges have been filed, Emerson said it might be possible for federal charges to be considered in the case.

A Class 1 state election offense is a felony and punishable by a prison term of up to five years, a $10,000 fine or both.

At a press conference Thursday, Emerson said he isn't alleging there are other instances of absentee ballot fraud, but he stressed strong action in the case could discourage it from occurring in other counties.

In the letter, Emerson noted, "I clearly hope this is an isolated case at best, but it could be the tip of the iceberg at worst."

Emerson also questioned the ability of the secretary of state's office to oversee elections effectively in Missouri this year.

Secretary of State Judith Moriarty, the state's chief election official, has been suspended pending an impeachment trial before the state Supreme Court.

He said the situation has hurt the office's integrity and may jeopardize its ability to deal with situations that might arise around the state.

Over the years, Emerson said the state's elections process has been run very well.

"I am very disturbed by this," he said. "Where people think they can get by with this in one place, they think they can in other places also."