(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Residents in East St. Louis, a city in Illinois, including leftist political candidate Marie Franklin and outgoing Mayor Robert Eastern III, protested on Thursday the election results of an April 4 mayoral election citing alleged voter fraud, bribery and flawed verification processes for signatures.
“I ran a clean campaign and hard-working campaign, and we were disappointed,” Franklin, a 60-year-old community activist said, according to Fox-affiliated Fox 2. “Everybody who was with us was disappointed. We were like, these numbers just aren’t adding up. That’s because this election and others in the past have been decided on the basis of those mail-in ballots. The process we’re dealing with those is skewed. The process is off. We need to have a better process.”
Mayor Eastern III sent a letter to county prosecutors and the state’s Attorney General demanding a criminal investigation claiming illegal election processes, local reporter Deion Broxton said Thursday.
“It’s been going on for years,” Franklin told Broxnton in an interview.
Franklin’s supporters claimed they witnessed individuals voting using other people’s names and receiving cash payments in exchange for votes, local media reported on Thursday.
“You know we have people telling folks, ‘Oh, we’re going to fill this out for you so you can get paid,” Franklin warned. “Really? That’s what we’re doing still?”
Franklin announced her failed candidacy in October 2022 and ran on far-left platform, promising to abolish cash bail and take down what she dubbed “systems that are in place that oppress us,” reported local newspaper Belleville News-Democrat on October 4, 2022.
Rev. Dr. Kelvin Ellis, a protestor, called on those fraudulent votes to be thrown out and demanded a new election. “If those votes are in fact thrown out and the requirement for a new election in that particular district, that may in fact change the outcome of the entire election,” he said.
The local board of election rejected Franklin’s claims and proceeded to certify the April 4 election. “No evidence will be taken, and no arguments will be heard,” said a spokeswoman for the Board of Election Commissioners. “Please be advised that the appropriate manner for reporting any alleged voter fraud should be forwarded to the state attorney’s office.”
City council member Charles Powell III won the election, local outlets reported.
