Georgia man receives 25-year sentence for voter fraud in 2021 Senate runoff election

A Georgia man is facing a 25-year prison stretch after being convicted for voting illegally in the 2021 Georgia Senate runoff election. 

William Chase fraudulently submitted a ballot in that election he received by mistake at his PO box, the District Attorney of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit said in a press release.

Chase "had already submitted his own ballot for the January 2021 runoff election," the D.A. said, when he submitted the ballot sent by accident to his postal box. 

A jury deliberated for an hour before determining that he had "signed and delivered the forged absentee ballot, signed the Oath of Elector as the resident, marked the ballot for the resident without the authority to do so, and voted twice in the same election." 

Chase has several other convictions related to fraud, the D.A.'s office said, including "Financial Identity Fraud" and "Impersonating an Officer." He faces a total of 25 years in prison for the latest conviction, with 15 of those to be served without the possibility of parole. 

District Attorney Chris Arnt in the press release praised the fact that the prosecutor's office "had sufficient evidence to successfully prosecute [Chase]."

"This prosecution, along with the stiff prison sentence will hopefully send a clear message that we do not tolerate voter fraud in the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit," he said.