Ky Elections: Feds indict candidate on voter fraud charges [WHAS11]

Donald "Champ" Maze, 46, of Owingsville, who defeated incumbent Bath County Attorney Kim Price in the Democratic primary, was charged Thursday with soliciting vote buying and obstructing justice.  Donald Maze is the husband of Circuit Court Judge Beth Maze, and he is defended by Janet Stumbo (former Kentucky Supreme Court justice and currently a candidate for Court of Appeals judge in a contested race against incumbent David A. Barber).  Here is a link to the entire story and some extracts.

Feds indict candidate on voter fraud charges [WHAS11]
By SAMIRA JAFARI  / Associated Press

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Donald "Champ" Maze, 46, of Owingsville, who defeated incumbent Bath County Attorney Kim Price in the Democratic primary, was charged Thursday with soliciting vote buying and obstructing justice. Maze has no opposition in the November general election.

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Prestonsburg attorney Janet Stumbo said in written statement on Friday that Maze is innocent and will plead not guilty to the charges.

"From our investigation into this matter, we believe this indictment was returned in order to unfairly pressure Champ Maze into revealing information that the prosecution incorrectly believes he had about other individuals," Stumbo said. "To this end, we believe this is an abuse of the judicial process."

Federal prosecutors allege that Maze, husband of Circuit Judge Beth Maze, paid two women $100 each to add his name to a slate of candidates for whom they were paying people to vote. In addition, prosecutors claim that Donald Maze coached the women on how to avoid implicating him in their grand jury testimony.

"This case was the outgrowth of previous indictments in Bath County," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Taylor. "This was pretty open and notorious and brazen conduct in Bath County in the spring, and we'll be watching them closely in the fall."

Before the primary election, Maze's wife, the circuit judge, called vote-buying in Bath County a problem that is hard to prove.

"At this point, I don't know who is exactly behind it, but you can stand at the courthouse and see what's going on," she said in an interview in May. "Many people see their vote as a commodity, as something they can sell."

Phone calls to the Maze residence in Owingsville went unanswered Friday. The couple did not return messages left at their offices.

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