Continuance granted for Camilla mayor accused of interfering in 2024 election

CAMILLA – Camilla’s suspended mayor has requested, and received, a continuance in a legal case in which he is accused of attempting to interfere with a November 2024 election. Mayor Kelvin Owens, along with City Clerk Cheryl Ford and Election Supervisor Rhunette Williford, were indicted in May 2025 and accused of interference in a Nov. 4, 2024, special election for an unexpired Camilla City Council seat.

The special election initially was cancelled following the resignations of Ford and Williford on the day prior to the election, leaving no one to open the polling place in downtown Camilla. However, a judge appointed new election workers on Election Day, and the polls opened shortly before 4 p.m., remaining open for the required 12 hours.

In the first count of the indictment, Owens is charged with interference with elections. The mayor is accused of “willfully (attempting) to prevent a polling officer from holding an election” by instructing the city’s police chief to post officers outside the polling place to prevent poll officers and voters from entering the building, according to the indictment.

Owens also is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud. In those indictments, he is accused of conspiring with Ford and Williford. In furthering this conspiracy, the indictment said, Owens canceled the election during a Nov. 4 meeting, instructed employees to remove election signage indicating where polls were located and personally placed a sign at the polling place announcing the cancellation.

Ford was indicted on three counts of interference with elections, conspiracy to commit election fraud and two counts of failure of a public officer to perform their duty.

She is accused of resigning her position the day prior to the election in order to prevent voting from occurring, attempting to prevent a poll officer from holding an election and of failing to post signage stating that any ballots cast for Ventarra Pollard would not be counted due to his ineligibility to run for office in the city.

A senior judge was initially appointed to oversee the case after the judges in the South Georgia Judicial Circuit recused themselves from hearing the case. Senior Judge Howard E. McClain recused himself in July 2025 and has been replaced by Senior Judge C. Dane Perkins.

No trial date had been set for the case, but it could have been scheduled for the March calendar. That will not happen with the postponement being granted.