Voter Fraud Convictions in Tennessee, 2016-2020
Return to the Voter Fraud Convictions Summary Chart
| A. Conviction Details | B. Background | C. Potential Election Impact | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Election Year: 2020 Name: Richard Jeremiah Garrett Party Affiliation: Non-Partisan[1]Ballotpedia, “Richard Garrett (Tennessee),” ballotpedia.org, accessed December 19, 2022 Offense and Sentencing: Richard Jeremiah Garrett pleaded guilty on 9/15/2022 to one count of voter registration fraud in relation to offenses committed prior to the 2020 general election;[2]Cheri Reeves, “Former City Councilman Richard Garrett Pleads Guilty to Voter Fraud, Receives Probation,” mainstreetclarksville.com, September 15, 2022 two further charges of voter registration fraud and perjury were dismissed.[3]Montgomery County Online Court Records System, “State of Tennessee vs Richard Jeremiah Garrett – 63CC1-2021-CR-893,” montgomery.tncrtinfo.com, accessed December 19, 2022 Garrett was sentenced on the same day to two years of unsupervised probation and a $1,000 fine plus $694 in associated fees.[4]Montgomery County Online Court Records System, “State of Tennessee vs Richard Jeremiah Garrett – 63CC1-2021-CR-893,” montgomery.tncrtinfo.com, accessed December 19, 2022 | “Former Clarksville Mayor Pro Tem and Ward 1 City Council member Richard Garrett and his wife Laquvia were in court Wednesday [9/7/2022] and pleaded not guilty to fraud and perjury charges. … Court documents obtained by The Leaf-Chronicle say Garrett made false statements on his voter application for the general election in November 2020. He said on the application he lived in Ward 1 of Clarksville, [but he actually lived in Ward 10].”[5]Alexis Clark, “Former Clerksville Councilperson, Wife Plead Not Guilty to Perjury, Fraud Charges,” theleafchronicle.com, September 9, 2022[6]Alexis Clark, “Indictments Detail Fraud, Perjury Charges Against Former Clarksville Councilman,” theleafchronicle.com, August 10, 2022 Case Notes: State of Tennessee v. Richard Jeremiah Garrett Case Number: 63CC1-2021-CR-893 Court Records | Type of Election: Voter Registration Party Affiliation: Non-Partisan Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections |
| 2. | Election Year: 2019 Name: Pamela Moses Party Affiliation: Former Democratic Mayoral Candidate[7]Derek Major, “BLM Activist Pamela Moses Receives Six-Year Prison Sentence for Illegally Voting After Being Told Her Voting Rights Was Restored,” blackenterprise.com, February 7, 2022 Offense and Sentencing: Pamela Moses was convicted by a jury in November 2021 of one count of falsifying an entry on an election document.[8]Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal, “Case Information – C1909351 – The State of Tennessee vs PAMELA MOSES,” cjs.shelbycountytn.gov, accessed on May 5, 2022 Moses was sentenced in January 2021 to six years imprisonment.[9]Sam Levine, “Prosecutor Drops All Charges Against Pamela Moses, Jailed Over Voting Error,” theguardian.com, April 22, 2022 On 2/25/2022, Judge W. Mark Ward overturned Moses’ conviction and granted a retrial after new evidence came to light. As reported by the Guardian, prosecutors then had the choice to “appeal Ward’s order, retry the case, or drop the charges.”[10]Sam Levine, “Judge Orders New Trial for Us Woman Sentenced to Six Years for Trying to Register to Vote,” theguardian.com, February 26, 2022 On 4/22/2022, the Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich announced that all charges against Pamela Moses in this case have been dismissed.[11]Shelby County District Attorney, Amy Weirich, “Voting Case Dismissed by DA’s Office,” scdag.com, April 22, 2022 | “Pamela Moses, a Black Lives Matter activist and former Democratic mayoral candidate in Memphis,… lost her right to vote when she pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence,… However, after serving probation, she began working on restoring her voting rights. In 2019, the Tennessee Department of Corrections and the County Election Commission both signed off on Moses’ voter registration application restoring her voting rights. According to a Washington Post report, the officials who restored Moses voting rights acknowledged they made a mistake saying her probation was finalized, which meant Moses wasn’t eligible to vote. As a result, Moses was charged with illegally registering to vote when she submitted the certificate as part of her voting registration.”[12]Derek Major, “BLM Activist Pamela Moses Receives Six-Year Prison Sentence for Illegally Voting After Being Told Her Voting Rights Was Restored,” blackenterprise.com, February 7, 2022 Case Notes: The State of Tennessee v. Pamela Moses Case Number: C1909351 | Type of Election: Voter Registration Party Affiliation: Democrat Theoretical Election Effect: No effect on Congressional or Presidential elections |
References
| ↑1 | Ballotpedia, “Richard Garrett (Tennessee),” ballotpedia.org, accessed December 19, 2022 |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Cheri Reeves, “Former City Councilman Richard Garrett Pleads Guilty to Voter Fraud, Receives Probation,” mainstreetclarksville.com, September 15, 2022 |
| ↑3, ↑4 | Montgomery County Online Court Records System, “State of Tennessee vs Richard Jeremiah Garrett – 63CC1-2021-CR-893,” montgomery.tncrtinfo.com, accessed December 19, 2022 |
| ↑5 | Alexis Clark, “Former Clerksville Councilperson, Wife Plead Not Guilty to Perjury, Fraud Charges,” theleafchronicle.com, September 9, 2022 |
| ↑6 | Alexis Clark, “Indictments Detail Fraud, Perjury Charges Against Former Clarksville Councilman,” theleafchronicle.com, August 10, 2022 |
| ↑7, ↑12 | Derek Major, “BLM Activist Pamela Moses Receives Six-Year Prison Sentence for Illegally Voting After Being Told Her Voting Rights Was Restored,” blackenterprise.com, February 7, 2022 |
| ↑8 | Shelby County Criminal Justice System Portal, “Case Information – C1909351 – The State of Tennessee vs PAMELA MOSES,” cjs.shelbycountytn.gov, accessed on May 5, 2022 |
| ↑9 | Sam Levine, “Prosecutor Drops All Charges Against Pamela Moses, Jailed Over Voting Error,” theguardian.com, April 22, 2022 |
| ↑10 | Sam Levine, “Judge Orders New Trial for Us Woman Sentenced to Six Years for Trying to Register to Vote,” theguardian.com, February 26, 2022 |
| ↑11 | Shelby County District Attorney, Amy Weirich, “Voting Case Dismissed by DA’s Office,” scdag.com, April 22, 2022 |