Bizarre to say the least........
City & Region » Politics
Arrest 'imminent' in case of alleged ballot tampering
By Robert J. McCarthy
News Political Reporter
Published:October 21, 2011, 11:58 AM
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Sheriff begins probe of ballots
An arrest is expected soon in an apparent case of tampering with absentee ballots at the Erie County Board of Elections, Undersheriff Mark N. Wipperman said this morning.
Following a full scale investigation by sheriff's investigators, Wipperman said detectives have narrowed suspects to a small list, all of whom work at the board.
"Several interviews have been conducted and some valuable evidence has been located and secured," he said. "The Sheriff's Office is confident that once the evidence is professionally analyzed, an arrest will be imminent."
The Buffalo News reported Tuesday that ballots already marked for Republican County Executive Chris Collins on either the GOP or Independence lines were reported in Lackawanna, and that elections officials were quizzing board employees for an explanation.
Democratic Elections Commissioner Dennis E. Ward and his Republican counterpart, Ralph M. Mohr, on Wednesday said they had concluded their internal inquiry surrounding at least 10 pre-marked ballots, and had referred the matter to the Sheriff's Office.
Mohr said today the probe has proven extensive, with five detectives and a crime scene investigator descending upon the board's West Eagle Street headquarters over the past two days.
"They took the employees into a separate room to talk to them; one guy for two hours," Mohr said, declining to identify the board worker.
He said he and Ward were also extensively interviewed by investigators to determine board procedures.
Ward said earlier this week that board officials were concerned about the possibility of anyone tampering with official ballots, though he noted that mistakes have occurred in the past when an employee may have accidentally "scooped up" test ballots and distributed them in the mail. But he said Wednesday that appeared unlikely.
Mohr added the situation is puzzling because the handful of bipartisan employees who had access to the ballots as they were prepared for mailing were in each other's presence, and any tampering attempt would have been noticed. He said that neither political campaign had access to the ballots and that the small number in question — 10 out of approximately 10,000 — could make virtually no difference in the outcome of the election.
Wipperman emphasized that neither the campaign of Collins or Democrat Mark C. Poloncarz are involved in the case.
"The suspect [or suspects] acted on their own accord," he said.
rmccarthy@buffnews.com
I wonder why someone would risk their job .....this is too bizarre. Why Lackawanna?
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Originally Posted by mnb811
