MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New information obtained by ABC24 Tuesday shows a top candidate for Memphis Mayor during the Oct. 5 city-wide elections wanted the Shelby County D.A. to look into the Shelby County Election Commission after ballot box keys were stolen a day before the election.
Memphis mayoral candidate and former Shelby County Commissioner Van Turner sent the letter to D.A. Steve Mulroy and U.S. Attorney Kevin Ritz Oct. 13, requesting an investigation into the election commission, saying Election Commissioner Linda Phillips' statement the election was not compromised was not based on anything "conclusively proving the election was not compromised."
This was after it was revealed an election worker had her car broken into a day before the mayoral election, having cash and keys to ballot boxes stolen.
Tuesday, Phillips said Turner dropped the issue and will no longer pursue legal action, after the election was officially certified Oct. 16, three days after the letter was sent to Mulroy and Ritz.
Memphis city council candidate and president of the Downtown Memphis Association Jerred Price was undersigned on the letter.
In the letter, Turner and Price claim the Oct. 4 theft of the ballot box keys, which they said went missing from the election commission on Sept. 19, prompting them to change locks on seven ballot boxes.
“I’m disheartened that this is just now coming to light after the election," Turner said of the theft on Oct. 9. "I hope that for future elections, what happened here will not happen again.”
Turner came in fourth place in the Memphis mayoral race, behind Paul Young, Floyd Bonner and Willie Herenton. Price lost his city council election to Yolanda Cooper-Sutton.
