District 6 charges more clear

Published 9:16 pm Wednesday, March 25, 2009

At least a portion of allegations against Pike County Commission’s District 6 Commissioner Karen Berry will be related to absentee ballots.

That’s what her opponent Oren Fannin’s attorney Joel Lee Williams said, after filing a motion to examine and copy 40 absentee ballots.

“Not everything (we allege) has to do with absentee ballots,” Williams said.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

The motion filed March 20 comes after Fannin made copies of absentee ballot affidavits, voter registration lists and polling lists for District 6.

Judge Joel Holley, of Lannett, has ruled to allow Fannin to make these copies 1:30 p.m. Monday in the presence of Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas or a designee.

Up until this time, Williams and Fannin have not said any of the allegations they will seek to prove in trial, but simply that Berry’s six-vote win has come with “illegal votes.”

While some of the allegations will involve absentee votes, Williams said that won’t be all.

“Part of it is, yes,” Williams said.

But Williams said Fannin will charge “whether or not the voting was proper by certain people.”

The trial has been set for April 22 at 9:30 a.m., and it will be held in the Pike County Courthouse. By April 7, Fannin will be required to file exactly what he will allege against Berry with the circuit clerk.