Walker County, GA Resident To Serve 15 Years For Voting Fraud

Image Credit: Lookout Mountain District Attorney’s Office & Google Maps

The Tennessee Conservative [By Jason Vaughn] –

Walker County, Georgia, resident, William Chase, 62, was convicted of forgery, illegal acts regarding election documents, unlawful acts regarding elector’s vote, and repeat voting in the same election. 

Chief Judge Kristina Graham conducted the trial. 

Presented at trial, the evidence showed that an absentee ballot of a Walker County resident was mistakenly sent to an old address, a PO box in LaFayette, Georgia. When her ballot never arrived but her husband’s did, the resident called the Elections Office in Walker County. Upon receipt of the call, the Elections Office discovered that an absentee ballot with the resident’s name had already been accepted but not yet counted. 

It appeared to have the resident’s signature on the Oath of Elector section. However, when the resident saw the ballot, she immediately noticed it was not her signature. The ballot was canceled immediately and a new ballot was sent to the resident’s current mailing address. 

The Election Office contacted the Secretary of State Office to request an investigation be done on the case. Investigator Paul Cain began the investigation by obtaining the current occupant of the PO box address on the absentee ballot that was sent, finding it to be William Clifford Chase. Chase had already submitted his own ballot for the 2021 election. The investigator asked Chase for a statement, and he claimed he was the only one with access to the PO box. The ballot was then transported to the GBI crime lab, where fingerprint DNA testing was done. William Chase was a match. 

After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury concluded that William Chase was guilty of signing the forged ballot as the resident and therefore voted twice in the same election. 

District Attorney Chris Arnt said, “William Chase is no stranger to fraud and forgery as he has several felony convictions including bankruptcy fraud, theft by shoplifting, forgery in the first degree, stealing public documents, financial identity fraud, and impersonating an officer.

After the trial, Judge Graham sentenced William Chase to a total of 25 years, with the first 15 years being served in the Georgia Department of Corrections without the possibility of parole. 

About the Author: Jason Vaughn, Media Coordinator for The Tennessee Conservative  ~ Jason previously worked for a legacy publishing company based in Crossville, TN in a variety of roles through his career.  Most recently, he served as Deputy Director for their flagship publication. Prior, he was a freelance journalist writing articles that appeared in the Herald Citizen, the Crossville Chronicle and The Oracle among others.  He graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a Bachelor’s in English-Journalism, with minors in Broadcast Journalism and History.  Contact Jason at news@TennesseeConservativeNews.com