RAGLAND — A local woman allegedly attempted to vote twice early Tuesday morning, according to a poll inspector.
Inspector Jerry Sue Brannon said when the polls opened at 7 a.m., a line of about 10 or 12 voters had already formed.
“The very first voter to receive a ballot actually received two ballots,” Brannon said. “He voted on one of the ballots, and brought the other ballot to me, wanting to know what to do with it.”
Brannon said at that time, she instructed the poll workers to make sure no one received two ballots. Brannon said the woman who voted twice was the 10th voter of the day.
“I always step away when voters put their ballot in the machine,” Brannon said. “After she put her first ballot in, I walked up to give her an ‘I Voted’ sticker.
“That’s when I realized she was putting in the second ballot. I asked her, ‘Did you just put a second ballot through’? She said she did because they were both in her folder, and I said, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
Brannon said she immediately went to Town Clerk Penny Owens, the election manager, to tell her what happened. Owens contacted Tracy Roberts deputy general counsel with the Alabama League of Municipalities.
“He informed me that a police report needed to be filed,” Owens said. “Police Chief Bubba Brown came and he went in and talked to Mrs. Brannon.”
Brown came to the municipal building and wrote up a police report alleging voter fraud.
Owens said she asked Roberts what to do with the extra vote.
Once the polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Brannon said she would be instructed by the League of Municipalities on what to do next.
“I have worked the polls for the past 18 years, and this has never happened to me before,” Brannon said. “This woman admitted to me that she voted twice.”
The Code of Alabama states, “Any person who votes more than once at any election held in this state, or deposits more than one ballot for the same office as his or her vote at such election, or knowingly attempts to vote when not entitled to do so, or is guilty of any kind of illegal or fraudulent voting, shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a Class C felony.”
The incident remains under investigation by the Ragland Police Department.
