Ophelia Ford ran for her brother's state senate seat and defeated Henri Brooks by 20 votes in the special Democratic primary.
She went on to defeat Republican candidate Terry Roland by 13 votes in the special general election.
Names of deceased persons and felons were found on the rolls, and dozens of additional votes were counted from voters living outside the district.
The State Senate, having authorization to so act from the court’s order, voted to void the election by a margin of 26-6, on April 19, 2006.
Under Tennessee State law, the process of filling the district’s seat became the responsibility of the Shelby County Commission.