A Lincoln County commissioner tells The Charleston Gazette that he suspects that "some of the Absentee Ballots cast in last week's primary election may have come from dead people."

Commissioner Charles Vance, a physician, said he recognized the names of several deceased residents on a roster of people listed as having voted early or absentee, including former patients, the newspaper reports.

Allegations surfaced shortly before the primary that an unusual number of absentee ballots had been requested in Lincoln County, the scene of a federal election fraud investigation within the last several years.

The Gazette reported earlier this week that absentee ballots helped flip the results in at least two county races, and that the "totals show that absentee voting was far more one-sided than some originally thought."