School Employee Arrested Over Absentee Ballots

TYLER – A Chapel Hill School District employee has been arrested for election fraud. Arrested by Smith County sheriff’s deputies was Carolyn Lewis, 68 of Winona, who turned herself in at the county jail. The problem stems from 4 absentee ballots that were witnessed by the same person, which is a violation of the Texas Election Code. The ballots were for a position on the Chapel Hill school board. When an investigator contacted her in the parking lot of the high school, Lewis was in possession of two additional absentee ballots and appeared to be filling them out. The school district has placed Lewis on leave, pending an investigation. She has been charged with unlawfully witnessing absentee application, which is a Class B Misdemeanor and is currently free on a $500 bond.