Wilbur Graves, a former judge-executive for Monroe County, was convicted along with Wanda Moore, Gary Bartley, and Ronald Muse in a vote-buying scheme during the 2006 Monroe County general election. Moore and Muse both reached a plea agreement with prosecutors, testifying against Wilbur Graves. During the testimony, Moore stated that Graves provided her $20,000 to […]
Randy Salyer, an operative in a vote-buying scheme connected to Magoffin County Judge-Executive Charles “Doc” Hardin, was convicted of two counts of vote-buying. A joint investigation by the Kentucky Attorney General’s office and the FBI revealed that Salyer paid individuals $100 each to bring him their absentee ballots. He was sentenced to 21 months in […]
Six defendants pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to buy votes in the 2006 Monroe County general election in favor of certain candidates. Gumm was sentenced to three years’ probation with eight months’ home detention and a $4,000 fine. Martha Hughes, Michael Page, and Corey Page were each sentenced to two years’ probation and six […]
In 2012, Michael Salyers, a former Brethitt County magistrate candidate, was sentenced to two months in jail, six months in home confinement, and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service for buying votes during his campaign. He admitted to paying people $25 to vote for him.
Three Jackson residents were convicted in a vote buying scheme in a 2010 magistrate’s race where they tried to control the outcome of the primary election. Johnson and Young were sentenced to four months in prison for conspiring to buy votes and vote buying. Jennings was sentenced to two months in prison for vote buying […]
Arch Turner, the Breathitt County School Superintendent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy, admitting to handing out money to buy votes in a 2010 election. He was sentenced to two years in prison and fined $250,000 for his role in directing a vote-buying scheme.
Ruth Robinson, the former mayor of Martin, Kentucky, was sentenced to 90 months’ imprisonment on a variety of charges that included vote buying, identity theft, and fraud. With specific regard to the election charges, Robinson and co-conspirators James “Red” Robinson (her husband) and James Steven Robinson (her son) threatened and intimidated residents of Martin in […]
Magoffin County Magistrate Gary Risner, Deputy County Clerk Larry Shepherd, and Tami Jo Risner (his ex-wife) were convicted of felony voter fraud for a vote buying scheme for a host of candidates in the 2014 election. An accomplice, Scotty L. McCarty, was also charged but pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and testified against the others. […]
Scott McCarty pleaded guilty to bribing a voter in the 2014 Kentucky primary elections. McCarty admitted to accompanying a woman into a voting booth to make sure she voted for the right candidates. Afterwards, McCarty directed the woman to another person who would pay her for her vote. McCarty is to be sentenced in May […]
Keith Justice, of Pikeville, pleaded guilty to four counts of attempting to intimidate an election officer and one count of attempting to interfere with an election. The charges stem from the May 2016 state primary in which Justice, a licensed private investigator employed by Kentucky Senate Democratic Leader Ray Jones, D-Pikeville, falsely identified himself as […]