WEST MEMPHIS, AR (abc24.com) – Arkansas State Police are investigating claims of voter fraud in Crittenden County, and audio recordings are an important part of the investigation.
The problems center on a Democratic primary run-off for a seat in the state house. The recording is a voicemail left on candidate Kim Felker's phone. It appears absentee ballots were up for grabs.
The voicemail could link Hudson Hallum's campaign to voter fraud or it could merely be a coincidence. Either way, the recording is raising eyebrows.
“Hey Kim, how are you doing? My name is Leroy Grant. Uh, I was trying to get in touch with you. Uh, are you running for state representative? If you are, I got, uh, something you probably would need, I've got some absentee ballots over in West Memphis in Wards 4 and 5. Would you please give me a call?” Grant is recorded saying.
That voicemail is part of a major voter fraud investigation in Crittenden County.
The man on the phone, Leroy Grant, never heard back from Kim Felker and eventually went to work for her competition, Hudson Hallum.
He barely beat Felker in the Democratic Primary for the District 54 seat, but pounded her in the absentee vote count.
According to Hallum's campaign expenditure report, Grant got a job as a campaign worker after the call was made. He was paid nearly $3,000.
Wednesday we stopped by Grant's house, but no one came to the door.
We called Grant and asked him what exactly he was offering Kim Felker. He declined an on camera interview, but said he just wanted to put her in contact with people in the neighborhood who wanted to vote for her. He didn't have anything to say about the absentee ballots.
Grant said the FBI questioned him. Agents were recently in town serving voters and election officials with subpoenas for this investigation.
While Grant never mentioned anything about money in the voicemail, what he said was enough for a prosecuting attorney to mention it when he requested a state police investigation.
Signs of corruption or mere coincidence? A special prosecutor will decide soon enough.
