MADISONVILLE (WATE) - Two men were arrested Thursday on charges of bribing voters in a Tellico Plains election.
Chuck Hunt, 54, of Tellico Plains, was indicted by the Monroe County Grand Jury on eight counts of bribery of a voter and eight counts of conspiracy to bribe a voter.
Norman Nichols, 47, of Madisonville, was indicted on six counts of bribery of a voter and six counts of conspiracy to bribe a voter.
The men were allegedly buying votes during the 2011 Tellico Plains mayoral race.
Election administrator James R. Brown says the alleged vote buying involves nine absentee ballots that would not have made a difference in the outcome.
Nichols and Hunt were taken into custody by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which opened its investigation of the case in September 2011.
The pair was booked into the Monroe County Jail on bonds of $1,000.
Chuck Hunt (source: Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
Norman Nichols (source: Monroe County Sheriff's Office)
