VICTORY, Vt. (Watchdog.org) — A well known attorney in Vermont has asked a court to cancel Victory’s April 5 Selectboard run-off election, claiming the town’s voter checklist contains unqualified voters and non-residents, 11 of whom allegedly cast absentee ballots on Town Meeting Day.
In a complaint and mandamus petition filed March 21 with the Essex County Superior Court, attorney Deborah Bucknam requested the court to issue a temporary restraining order to stop the election between Lionel Easter and Otis McKennistry, who deadlocked in a tie on March 7.
Bucknam, representing Tracey Martel, the plaintiff, claims the defendants engaged in “massive voter fraud” by placing non-residents on the checklist.
“Numerous non-residents who are political allies of the individual defendants have been placed on the voter checklist, and voted by absentee ballot in the March 7, 2017 election,” the complaint states.
The defendants also are alleged to have blocked attempts by members of the Board of Civil Authority to purge illegal voters off the list.
Martel ran unsuccessfully for the town clerk-treasurer positions on Town Meeting Day, losing both races to Carol Easter by fewer than four votes. Carol Easter, the sitting clerk-treasurer, along with husband Lionel Easter, the Selectboard candidate, are two of 18 defendants named in the case.
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While some defendants accused of committing voter fraud hail from Victory, others live in Granby, Connecticut; Salem, Connecticut; St. Johnsbury, Vermont; Montpelier, Vermont; and Burlington, Vermont.
