(08/17/06) TRENTON ? Residents in Trenton may end up with a new mayor based on the outcome of an upcoming election fraud trial.

Defeated mayoral candidate Tony Mack says his opponent, Mayor Doug Palmer, committed misconduct in the election in order to achieve victory. Mack says Palmer?s people shredded absentee ballots, miscounted voters and moved polling places just before the election. The case will go to court, where a judge could rule for a new election or place Mack in office outright.

Although Mayor Palmer did not wish to speak on camera, he did call the accusations baseless. He says Mack?s claims don?t hold any merit due to the large margin of victory in the election. As for the moving of polling places, Palmer says some locations were changed for handicapped accessibility reasons.

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