Racism, Voter Fraud Cloud Election

Hundreds of people waited outside, while Evergreen's city council decided the fate of the city's top job inside. Council members counted eight provisional ballots to determine who would be the city's next mayor.

Incumbent Mayor Larry Fluker trailed by just two votes in last week's run-off, but Tuesday's count tipped the election in his favor. After the provisional ballots were tallied, the council certified the election declaring Fluker the winner. The final count gave Fluker the two vote edge with 1,028 votes, while his challenger, Pete Wolff III, received 1,026 votes.

Wolff is vowing to contest the election, saying his attorney has already filed a lawsuit claiming there was voter fraud.

"We hadn't lost yet, this is just a temporary set back," said Wolff, who insists he has proof that ballots were cast in the election using the names of dead people. Wolff also questioned the integrity of the provisional ballots saying they were not handled properly.

One of Wolff's supporters, who also served as a poll worker, says she witnessed voter fraud.

"I've worked as a poll worker for 35 years, and this is the worst election I've ever seen" says Annie Wiley. "I had to add at least 15 people to my list that were not on there by order of the city clerk," she says.

Fluker, who was elected four years ago as Evergreen's first black mayor, addressed his supporters in an impromptu speech on the steps of city hall. "Today we have put to rest those divisive efforts on the part of some people in this community to divide this community racially, to divide it socially and economically," he said.

More than 2,000 people voted in last week's election, which is nearly 85% of Evergreen's registered voters. Typically the city sees a 15 to 20% turnout.