$100,000 reward available for information on Cherokee vote tampering
The reward for information leading to a conviction for ballot tampering in Cherokee’s September 2017 elections has been quadrupled from $25,000 to $100,000 following a unanimous vote from the Cherokee Tribal Council June 7.
The $25,000 reward was established during a Feb. 27 Budget Council meeting as part of a resolution requesting a follow-up investigation into an audit from Arizona-based Veriti Consulting. That report revealed ballot tampering was the likely cause of discrepancies in vote counts during the September elections.
“The audit report does not designate who they think might have done the ballot tampering, only that they think the ballot tampering did occur,” said Principal Chief Richard Sneed in February. “It is imperative that we restore full faith in the elections process for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, so what this resolution seeks to do is have Tribal Council authorize a deeper investigation and to determine who actually committed the fraud.”
The Veriti report was commissioned after a recount of the votes in the Birdtown Tribal Council race revealed 86 more votes than originally tallied on Election Day. Councilmember Boyd Owle saw the most dramatic swing in results, adding 30 votes to his total, but the change didn’t affect his ranking — he would have come in first place regardless. However, the 29 votes that third-place Ashley Sessions gained thrust her into second place above incumbent Albert Rose and into the second Birdtown seat.
However, Sessions was never seated because the Board of Elections ordered a runoff election between Rose and Sessions after Rose filed a protest of the recount results. Rose won the Oct. 10 runoff with 541 votes to Sessions’ 381. Tribal Council then asked for an investigation into the Election Day ballots, resulting in the Veriti report.
According to the resolution establishing the $100,000 reward, an investigation into who was responsible for the ballot tampering is ongoing. The reward money will come from the tribe’s general fund.
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Rose moved to pass the resolution with a second from Councilmember Richard French, of Big Cove, with Tribal Council then passing it unanimously. This story was reported using online meeting videos, as Tribal Council’s recent decision to ban non-Cherokee media from its chambers prevents The Smoky Mountain News from attending in person.
Anyone with information on ballot tampering can submit tips anonymously by calling 800.455.9014 or visiting ebci.alertline.com.
