Head of GOP women's group arrested on voter fraud charge

Head of GOP women's group arrested on voter fraud charge

AP | August 25, 2006

NASHVILLE (AP) -- The president of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women has been arrested on charges of voter fraud.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said Friday that Shirley Ward turned herself in on a misdemeanor charge of false entry on an official registration or election document.

Ward, of Tipton County, is charged with knowingly voting in the wrong district of the county during early voting on July 14.

She was released on her own recognizance and has a court date scheduled for September 5.

Ward is the 17th president of the state Federation of Republican Women, which was founded in 1955.

She was deputy chairwoman of the President Bush supporter group "W Stands for Women" in 2004, and has served as the county chairwoman for U-S Senators Bill Frist and unsuccessful Republican Senate candidate Van Hilleary.

A phone message left at her home in Covington was not immediately returned.

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