HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Warner Robins Councilman up for re-election is facing accusations of breaking election laws on Election Day.
Charlie Bibb was allegedly campaigning at two separate polling locations at two separate times on Tuesday, Nov. 7: The Houston Healthcare Roy H. “Sonny” Watson Health Pavilion and Mossy Creek Middle School.
"No laws were broken at the Pavilion," Henry Freeman, Property Manager of the Houston Healthcare Pavilion said.
However, a Houston County Democrat member alleges they saw the councilman inside the middle school precinct just before polls closed at 7 p.m..
According to the organization's original press release, Kiefer says she witnessed:
- "Candidate Bibb sitting in his parked vehicle in front of her car,
- Candidate Bibb exiting his vehicle wearing his campaign shirt, at which time he waved to Mrs. Kiefer AND spoke to a poll worker upon entering Mossy Creek Middle School
- Candidate Bibb entering the polling location itself,
- Candidate Bibb sat down in plain view of poll workers/monitors in front of the registration table while voters were inside the location and other voters entered,
- Candidate Bibb remained inside the Mossy Creek Middle School location, after the last voters exited the building,
- Candidate Bibb remained on site and inside for 10-15 additional minutes conversing with poll workers."
The political group initially alleged the poll manager at the precinct "failed to meet her basic responsibility of preventing voters from being exposed to illegal electioneering."
Lorie Peterson was a poll worker at the middle school precinct that night, but not the manager.
She reached out to 13WMAZ and confirmed she is the woman in one of the photos with the Houston County Democrats alleged is Bibb.
As a citizen of Houston County, Peterson says, she does not vote in Warner Robins municipal elections.
For that reason, she says, she cannot easily recognize candidates or council people that don't represent her district.
"But, I will say that, when he first walked in, my Spidey-senses came on because I immediately turned to my coworker and asked, 'Who the heck is that?'" she said in a phone call.
She wasn't sure who had "blustered in, grabbed a chair, sat down" until she got home and began to hear accusations against the man through her colleagues.
"I was absolutely shocked, like blown away," she said. "Like, you gotta be kidding me!"
Members of the Houston County Democrats say they then escalated their complaints against Bibb.
Kiefer was reporting what she believed she was witnessing to the county board of elections as it was happening, according to Election Supervisor Assistant Andy Holland and files shared by the Houston County Democrats.
The following Wednesday is when Peterson says she reported what she witnessed.
It's not uncommon for people to hang out around precincts and wait for results, Peterson says.
She accepted that the man was just a bystander when her coworker said the man was "just a poll watcher."
Since she began working as a poll worker four years ago, Peterson says, she's seen lots of people do the same thing for a variety of reasons.
Kiefer told 13WMAZ she was there to get results for her political organization's group, but crossing paths with a candidate was unexpected, she says.
"Everybody who wants to hang around knows the rules, that they can't campaign or do anything like that at a polling precinct," Peterson said. "Especially not candidates, and definitely not an incumbent, for that matter."
Peterson said she still cannot say for a fact if she saw Councilman Bibb that night, but thought it was "odd and weird" how the man accused as him entered in a boisterous manner, spoke with an on-duty officer at the precinct, waited inside the precinct after the polls closed and "almost demanded" the poll workers share the results with him as soon as they closed the polls.
"We had to keep it open for a few minutes after 7 p.m. just to let the people who were already inside voting finish, so their's could count," Peterson said.
Her job was to shut down the machines. When she had her back turned to do that, she says, Peterson could hear the man from earlier asking her colleagues for the results.
"The poll worker he was talking to kind of stood their ground and told him to wait because we weren't done counting the votes yet," Peterson said.
About a half later, she says, the results were ready, signed by two workers and taped to the door with the final count.
Peterson said she remembers the man leaving satisfied with the results.
"He was thanking us — the poll workers — profusely for the job we had done," Peterson said. "Then, he left like he was happy."
According to Kiefer's photo, the man accused as Councilman Bibb is seen walking outside the precinct at 7:23 p.m..
Holland confirmed he and Debra Presswood, the supervisor of elections in Houston County, were in touch with Kiefer and the Democrats on Tuesday night.
The Board of Elections office also confirmed they received another report about a separate incident earlier in the day at the Houston Healthcare Pavilion.
According to Holland, his office received a tip just before noon "about a misunderstanding" at the pavilion.
Over the phone, the pavilion's property manager Freeman said he wanted Bibb to "campaign on a different side of the building" because he saw the councilman was wearing a campaign shirt, had his signs and waved at people coming in.
To ensure no laws were broken, Freeman says he took out his own measuring tape and confirmed Bibb was 150 feet away from the building, as the law requires.
Holland said he reached out to Bibb when he heard the tip. He said the councilman told him over the phone, "the misunderstanding was resolved."
If the accusations against Councilman Bibb are true, he would have broken two election laws.
According to Georgia laws, candidates cannot be inside a polling place during an election unless they're there to vote or within 150 feet of "the outer edge of any building within which a polling place is established."
Holland confirmed Bibb voted early and Feagin Mill Middle School is his designated precinct, not MCMS nor the Houston Healthcare Pavilion.
"If he came in to vote, that's one thing," Peterson said. "But, he didn't come in to vote."
13WMAZ cannot confirm if Councilman Charlie Bibb is the accused person in the images shared by the Houston County Democrats, nor if they were wearing a campaign shirt.
On Friday, he told 13WMAZ he was "not at the precinct" and referred questions to his lawyer, but has not shared their name nor contact information.
Bibb's opponent, L. Ellis Carter, said he does not want Bibb disqualified and wants the board to "go through due-process."
Preliminary results Tuesday showed Bibb leading in the At-Large Post 2 race by three votes against Carter, not including four provisional ballots.
On Tuesday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m., the Houston County Board of Elections is meeting to discuss what they will do with the provisional ballots.
According to Holland, a discussion about the allegations is not an item listed on the board's agenda.
"As far as any action taken towards the candidate, that is not something the board of elections has purview over," Holland said.
The Houston County Democrats say they plan to discuss the accusations at tomorrow's meeting during public comments.