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Public defender election results upheld
October 12, 2006
TAZEWELL — Oneida attorney Leif Jeffers’ bid to overturn the results of the hotly-contested August 3 public defender’s election in the Eighth Judicial District has been shot down.
McMinnville Judge Larry Bart Stanley, appointed to hear the case in Claiborne County Chancery Court, ruled Monday that Jeffers, who opposed incumbent Martha Yoakum in the election, did not prove voting irregularities.
Jeffers, who lost to Yoakum by a razor-thin margin of 12 votes out of thousands of votes cast across the Eighth District’s five counties, had filed a lawsuit in Claiborne County shortly after the vote was certified, claiming several irregularities in that county.
Claiborne County’s unofficial election night returns, combined with returns from Scott, Campbell, Union and Fentress counties, appeared to give Jeffers an 88-vote victory over Yoakum. Citing miscalculations by tired poll workers on election night, however, the Claiborne County Election Commission revised its vote totals before certifying the results on August 10. The net result of the changes was a 100-vote swing in favor of Yoakum, handing her a 12-vote victory.
Yoakum responded to Jeffers’ lawsuit by filing a similar lawsuit alleging irregularities in Scott County.
After his lawsuit was filed, Jeffers filed additional allegations, alleging that a county commissioner in Union County, Yoakum’s home county, bought votes for himself, Yoakum and other political candidates in the August 3 election.
According to Jeffers’ allegations, Union County Commissioner Charlie Cox bought the votes from poor, semi-literate voters at a price of $10. Jeffers had offered depositions collected from 15 voters allegedly paid by Cox to vote for Yoakum.
Judge Stanley ruled Monday that those allegations were not filed within the window that candidates have to contest election results.
However, a criminal investigation is underway in connection with the allegations. Janet Kleinfelter, from the Tennessee Attorney General’s office, told Stanley during Monday’s proceedings that a criminal probe has begun.
Offering or accepting a bribe to vote a certain way is a felony in the state of Tennessee.
While Stanley did not consider the testimony from voters whose votes were allegedly bought, the judge did allow Jeffers to call witnesses who had signed affidavits saying Cox bought their votes. Some testimony differed from the sworn affidavits, while other testimony backed up the affidavits.
Two of the witnesses originally opted not to answer questions related to vote-buying but later changed their minds, saying that Cox paid them to vote for Yoakum. They said they had heard in the courthouse hallway that they would go to jail if they testified to accepting money. Two of Yoakum’s employees later testified that they had contacted several of the witnesses, with one testifying that he asked them if they knew the punishment for accepting a bribe, but stated that they did not coerce witnesses into keeping silent.
At the end of testimony, Stanley said it was obvious that some witnesses had lied on the stand, calling it “atrocious,” and admonished Jeffers for paying a total of $60 to some witnesses after obtaining their affidavits. Jeffers said he gave money to the family because they did not have milk, food or gas, and no money.
Jeffers worked as an assistant public defender under Yoakum before opting to enter the public defender’s race. In campaign advertisements, he alleged that Yoakum fired him because he was running against her. He has since opened a private practice in Oneida.
news@ihoneida.com
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