In the waning hours of the state Senate District 10 race, the Tennessee Republican Party put out a press release saying "bribe-taking Democrat Ward Crutchfield" had voted for Democratic candidate Andy Berke.
The release says former Sen. Crutchfield "endorses Berke, claims to have voted for him even though felons can’t vote in Tennessee until they complete their sentence."
Officials at the Hamilton County election office said former Sen. Crutchfield did come in and cast a ballot during early voting.
Charlotte Mullis, deputy election administrator, said the office had nothing on record saying he was ineligible to vote.
She said the office regularly receives letters from the state and federal governments on those who have been convicted of felonies. It also gets a monthly list from Hamilton County.
Those listed are then purged from the voter rolls and are sent a letter saying they cannot vote again until after they serve their time and successfully reapply for voting rights, Ms. Mullis said.
Former Sen. Crutchfield said at the Hamilton County Democratic Party’s Kefauver Dinner at the Convention Center on Monday night that he had voted for attorney Berke.
Former Sen. Crutchfield is awaiting sentencing in February after pleading guilty to federal bribery charges. He resigned his post, necessitating the special election.
Tennessee Republican Party communications director Bill Hobbs said, “Convicted criminal Crutchfield’s possibly illegal vote for fellow Democrat Andy Berke is yet another indicator that a vote for Berke is a vote for more of the Democrat Party’s business-as-usual tolerance of illegal and unethical behavior in the state legislature.
“The voters of Hamilton and Marion counties deserve better – and they will get it when they elect Oscar Brock to once and for all erase the stench of corruption on the seat that was for too long occupied by the corrupt Ward Crutchfield.”