Voter fraud allegation in Adair County given to OSBI

STILWELL, Okla. (AP) -- The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has been asked to look into allegations of absentee voter fraud in the Democratic runoff for Adair County Sheriff, officials said.

District Attorney Dianne Barker Harrold said she has turned the investigation over to the OSBI after a couple of complaints into absentee voter fraud were made to her office.

"We had a couple of complaints lodged with Jack Goss, our investigator, so we turned them over to the OSBI," she said.

"We're staying completely out of it, and I want to make it perfectly clear that there have been no allegations against the sheriff."

Saundra Miller of the Adair County Election Board said no complaints or challenges have been filed with the Election Board.

In the Sept. 19 runoff, Incumbent Charles Hartshorne defeated former sheriff Gerald Coleman in the Democratic runoff. Hartshorne went on to win the general election.

Watts Assistant Police Chief Bob Nelson said a 22-year-old man and his family were approached by a woman who brought absentee ballots to his house.

Nelson said the man said he and his family voted in another room, sealed their votes and then handed them to the woman, who said she would mail them.

Under state law, applications for absentee ballots must be made in writing to the county election board. A voter must mail, hand deliver or fax the absentee ballot to election officials.

It's against the law for someone else to mail or deliver a ballot to an absentee, authorities said.

Nelson would not release the names of the people involved because the investigation had been turned over to the District Attorney's Office.

Nelson said the man said the sheriff's runoff wasn't the first election in which the woman had come to his house and collected absentee ballots.