The Hamilton County Election Commission next month is expected to discuss charges that former Chattanooga City Councilwoman Marti Rutherford illegally voted in a precinct in which she was not a resident.

The Service Employees International Union Local 205 has asked that the Election Commission look into the allegation against Ms. Rutherford, who resigned last fall after a lawsuit was filed charging that she did not live in District 6. The union wants the Election Commission to refer the issue to the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office.

Election Commission attorney Jerry Summers said he only advises the commission and any recommendation would be up to the five-member body.

“If there’s an appearance of irregularity then the Election Commission may have a responsibility to at least ask the district attorney to investigate it,” he said.

The Election Commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on Feb. 5.

Mr. Summers said it looks as though the statute of limitations would not exclude from prosecution Ms. Rutherford’s votes in the August and November 2006 elections, when she was registered with an Alta Vista Drive address.

“It appears that those are the ones that would be questionable and may or may not be subject to prosecution,” Mr. Summers said.

Ms. Rutherford could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

In a letter to Election Commission Administrator Bud Knowles, SEIU president Doug Collier asserted that Ms. Rutherford “unlawfully voted in an improper precinct on many occasions.”

“Our members believe that public officials such as Ms. Rutherford have a special obligation to abide by the laws they are sworn to uphold,” Mr. Collier wrote in the letter dated Jan. 15. “We therefore urge the Election Commission to review our complaint, and then to refer this matter to the district attorney for prosecution.”

Hamilton County Executive Assistant District Attorney Neal Pinkston declined comment Wednesday.

In a letter to Mr. Collier dated Dec. 11, Hamilton County District Attorney Bill Cox said election complaints first go to the Election Commission for review.

“After such review it is the duty of the Hamilton County Election Commission to notify this office if a violation has occurred,” Mr. Cox wrote in the letter. “After such notification, this office will review their findings and the appropriate statutes and determine if further action is warranted.”

After receiving complaints that Ms. Rutherford did not live in District 6, City Attorney Randy Nelson last year conducted an investigation of her residency. He eventually filed an ouster lawsuit claiming that she did not live in District 6 “at any time relevant to her election.”

Ms. Rutherford resigned her seat before the matter went to court.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Hamilton County Election Commission will talk about alleged improper voting by former Councilwoman Marti Rutherford at its Feb. 5 meeting.