Cant believe no one here has jumped on [URL="http://www.waltonsun.com/news/complaint_1445___article.html/sheriff_farris.html"]this[/URL] yet.... [quote]DeFUNIAK SPRINGS - The Walton County Sheriff's Office has strongly denied any wrongdoing after a complaint was filed with state officials alleging elections fraud. The complaint states that Sheriff Ralph Johnson told Sheriff's Office employees to sign petitions to get his name on the November election ballot. The complaint also alleges that deputies in uniform and while driving patrol cars were soliciting signatures on behalf of Johnson. Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Eddie Farris emphatically denied the allegations Wednesday. "At no time has Ralph Johnson asked deputies or supervisors to sign petitions," he said. Sheriff candidates need 343 petition signatures by noon Monday or pay $6,555 to get their name on the ballot, according to elections officials. The complaint also states that several people in the Sheriff's Office were pressuring employees to sign petitions while on duty. Dispatch Supervisor Donna Smith is one of the four people named in the complaint who was handing out petitions to deputies./ The Daily News received the anonymous complaint by fax late last week. The complaint, which purportedly was filed with the Florida Division of Elections, states that the complainant is an employee of the Sheriff's Office and is worried that if identified he or she will lose their job. Officials at the Florida Division of Elections said they can neither confirm nor deny that a complaint has been filed. Farris said the complainant is just a disgruntled employee who has an "agenda." Farris added that he believes the complaint was filed to give the Sheriff's Office a "black eye."[/quote]
