KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In one of the only voter fraud cases prosecuted and taken to trial by the Knox County District Attorney General's Office, Jim Golden was found not guilty of voter registration fraud.
The bizarre case began when Golden put on a creepy costume that harks back to what doctors wore hundreds of years ago during outbreaks of the plague. Golden said he started wearing it during the pandemic.
In July 2022, he said he voted early in the Knox County elections.
Golden said he went back in August to make sure his vote counted and to test the system. Instead of wearing his usual button-down shirt, Golden put on the plague costume and showed off an Elvis Presley ID when asked.
"I always say, now please don't react when you see this," Golden said about the ID. "This is very confidential."
Election workers asked him to sign an application for ballot. Golden did, even though he had already voted and knew he had already voted.
Under the signature, the application said "I hereby certify that I am a registered and qualified voter," the application, which was filed as evidence in court, shows.
When election workers realized Golden had already voted, they asked him to leave the polling place.
Again, in October 2022, Golden said he voted early. And again, that November, he said he tried to hand out chocolates to the election workers. This time, he said, he didn't sign any papers.
"When I got down to the end, there was a lady sitting there. And she was livid," Golden said. "She said 'No, I don't want none of your chocolate, get out of here.' "
This time Golden faced prosecution.
On Nov. 12, 2022, a Knox County grand jury voted to indict Golden for voter registration fraud. He turned himself in for processing Nov. 23.
"People are way too serious about things that don't matter," Golden said.
And the things that do matter, they just stay away from," he said.
Knox County Elections Administrator Chris Davis said Golden's case is proof the system works.
"This voter did not get to vote twice. He attempted to, but he did not get to vote twice," Davis said.
This month, after a two-day trial, jurors deliberated for around 30 minutes before finding Golden not guilty, said veteran defense attorney Mitch Harper, who represented Golden. Judge Scott Green presided over the trial.
For his day in court, Golden said he wanted to wear another costume -- that of an inmate.
"They talked me out of wearing it," he said.
Davis said people shouldn't go to polling places if they're not voting or if they're not poll watchers, and they should not try to vote twice to "test the system."
"We're not going to tolerate that, and we will turn that over to the appropriate authorities," Davis said.
If people have questions on whether their vote has been counted, Davis said they should call the election administration. Davis said he can tell people where and when they voted.
The Knox County elections administrator said voter fraud is rare and his office has not referred anybody to the District Attorney's Office since 2020.