MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A politician who was voted out of the Tennessee Senate last week over a disputed election is suing to get her job back.
The Senate voted to remove Democrat Ophelia Ford by nullifying her 13-vote victory a special election held last fall to replace her brother, former Sen. John Ford, who resigned amid a corruption investigation.
An investigative committee recommended Ophelia Ford be ousted after finding the special election was suspect because of 12 improper ballots. Some of those ballots were cast in the names of dead people and others came from felons and people outside the district, the committee said.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Ophelia Ford and seven voters from her Memphis district claims the Republican-controlled Senate unfairly discriminated against Ford, who is black, and the voters whose ballots were challenged.
It asks U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald, who blocked the Senate's first effort to oust Ford in January, to reinstate her to the Senate.
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With the seat declared vacant, the Republican-majority Shelby County Commission will be responsible for appointing an interim senator until a new election can be held.
more:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TENNESSEE_ELECTION?SITE=MSJAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULTLooks like Tennessee is learning from Texas. :eyes: