03.18.08
A Hale County grand jury indicted former Circuit Court Clerk Gay Nell Tinker on 13 vote fraud-related charges. According to Attorney General Troy King’s office, the indictment charges Tinker with nine counts of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, an absentee voter affidavit; two counts of promoting illegal absentee voting by intentionally soliciting or promoting illegal absentee voting; and two counts of first-degree perjury for falsely certifying as to who signed an absentee voter affidavit. Six of the counts involve voting in a May 3, 2005 election with the others stemming from elections in the fall of 2004. The Birmingham News has more on the story. And, in a press release the Attorney General stated, "Vote fraud is a serious crime. It is not a crime against just an individual voter or a particular candidate. It is a crime against democracy, itself. When it is committed – as charged in these indictments – by the very custodian of the election system, a circuit clerk, it is even more grievous."

11.02.07
The Alabama Attorney General filed court papers Thursday naming state Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, and others as suspects in a voter fraud investigation in west Alabama .  The court papers also accuse Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins of trying to impede the Hale County investigation to "protect members of his family," including Singleton.  Attorney General Troy King asked the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to force Wiggins to step aside from one part of the voter fraud investigation because his sister, former Hale County Circuit Clerk and absentee election manager Gay Nell Tinker; his brother-in-law and former bailiff, Sen. Singleton; and his first cousin, Carrie Reaves, "are suspects in the instant investigation and are directly benefiting from the court's quashing of the search warrant and subpoenas."  The charges stem from a special election held in 2004 to fill a vacant state Senate seat.  Singleton, then a member of the Alabama House, won that Senate race. (“Legislator Suspect in Vote Fraud”, The Montgomery Advisor, 11/2/07)

08.22.07
The Montgomery Advertiser and The Tuscaloosa News report that a Hale County grand jury indicted Rosie Lyles and Valada Paige Banks (a former Greensboro City Council member) on Thursday on multiple felony charges related to vote fraud in two Democratic primary elections. Both women were charged with (1) second-degree possession of a forged instrument — an affidavit for an absentee voter — with the knowledge that it was forged, and (2) four counts of promoting illegal absentee voting. If convicted on the possession charge, Lyles and Banks could face one to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000 each. The charge of promoting illegal absentee voting is an unclassified felony, punishable by one to two years in prison and fines of $500 to $2,000 for each count. Ann Langford, a clerk in the Hale County probate judge’s office, said that the number of absentee ballots has declined in every election since 2000. “By no means did they go away or did the fraud go away,” she said. One factor that may have contributed to the decrease, according to Langford, was that volunteer poll watchers working for candidates or political parties were allowed to sit in the absentee vote office and observe for the five weeks the office was open. ("Woman indicted in vote fraud case”, The Montgomery Advertiser, 08/22/07)

07.13.07
Two accused of casting false absentee ballots in Alabama House race, one former House candidate. (“2 accused of casting false absentee ballots in Alabama House race”, The Mobile Press Register, 07/12/07)

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