WSB-TV

Board of Elections pursuing campaigning charge against the McKinneys

By Bill Nigut, Channel 2's political reporter

December 5, 2001 -- The State Board of Elections decided today to pursue allegations filed against Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and her father, Billy McKinney.

They are accused of disrupting a DeKalb County polling place on the night of last year's presidential election. Political reporter Bill Nigut has details on the story.

Witnesses before the election board said today that at 7 p.m., when the polls were due to close, hundreds in line had still not voted.

Worried that voters might be shut out, the McKinneys rushed to the school. What happened next is in dispute.

"It was very orderly until Congresswoman McKinney came in," said election worker Adrienne Susong. "And I heard her dad say twice, 'Get up on the table, baby. Get up on the table.'

"And she had the bullhorn in her hand and she did make a speech that said something to the effect of, 'Please don't leave. I need your votes.' "

That would be a violation of state election law, which prohibits campaigning at a polling place. Another witness told Channel 2 that in the alleged chaos, Billy McKinney violated election law by interfering with her duties as an election official.

"Billy grabbed the inside of my lapel and touched the inside of my breast and screamed at me," said election supervisor Nancy Quan Sellers.

Neither McKinney was at the hearing today. But Billy McKinney issued a statement, calling the accusations frivolous and an attempt to destroy him personally and politically.

The board decided there was enough evidence to turn the matter over to an administrative law judge for a full hearing. But no one would predict the outcome.

"There's a lot of 'he said-she said' evidence in this case," said Secretary of State Cathy Cox. "There's a lot of partisanship going on here on both sides and you have to take that into consideration."

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Answers

Whatever one may say about Cynthia McKenney, her father has always been a crazy asshole, willing to play the race card at every opportunity. Part of the curse of the new Democratic South.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001