Marion County Democratic Party asks SLED to investigate allegations of voter fraud in June primary

MARION COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — The Marion County Democratic Party has asked the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to investigate allegations of voter fraud during the June 11 primary.

Kendra Fling, who lost to incumbent Coroner Jerry Richardson, is alleging voter fraud and criminal activity, party chairman Deon Taylor said. Richardson received 3,101 votes, or 52.62%, while Fling got 2,792, or 47.38%.

During a protest hearing on Thursday, Fling alleged that people were getting paid, throwing away ballots, and filling out ballots for elderly people and not allowing them to do it themselves, Taylor said.

Under state law, a candidate protesting an election has to prove by the number of votes that are off that those ballots were tampered with. Fling was not able to do that, Taylor said, so the party’s committee upheld the results but still asked SLED to investigate the allegations.

“I welcome any kind of protest she may have,” Richardson told News13 on Tuesday. “SLED is welcome.”

Cynthia Ford, who ran for the state House District 57 seat against Lucas Atkinson, cited similar allegations of voter fraud. Atkinson won with 3,035 votes, or 55.75%. Ford had 2,049 votes, or 44.25%.

The state Democratic Party upheld the result at a protest hearing on Saturday in Columbia, but the party also asked SLED to investigate the allegations.

“As the chair, I am going for a better election,” Taylor said. “I want a fair election as well as how we handle absentee ballots. We want to have a better election.”

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