Image Credit: Erica Waterbury Realtor / Facebook & Canva
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
As concerns about the integrity of elections in the U.S. abound, one Wilson County woman is facing charges of voter fraud.
Erica Waterbury was recently arrested and charged with illegal registration or voting after using a different address to vote than what she was registered under. The indictment alleges that the act was intentional.
According to District Attorney Jason Lawson, “Illegal voting in Tennessee is made by our legislature to be a class D felony carrying 2-4 years of punishment that could be anywhere from probation to potential jail time and could carry a maximum of up to 5,000 dollars.”
Individuals are required to show identification when voting, and the address is verified with what the voter system shows. Voters are also required to sign a document stating that everything is accurate.
Wilson County Election Administrator Tammy Smith was asked why it took so long for the Election Commission to discover the alleged fraud.
Smith said, “Because if they sign under a penalty of perjury that they live at that address they live at on an application, I am not going to everybody’s house to make sure they live there.”
Doug Kufner, communications director for Secretary of State Tre Hargett, added, “Local officials routinely perform list maintenance, monitoring postal information for returned mail, changes of address, as well as commercial lists to identify those who may have moved. Voters also attest under oath that the address listed on their voter registration is their legal place of residence.”
While Smith says that more legislation is needed to empower the election commission to take stricter action against voter fraud, Lawson says it is ultimately up to citizens to ensure they are following the laws.
Waterbury is scheduled to be in court at the end of December.
One Response
Dimmercrap, no doubt.