The Wake County Board of Elections is investigating Knightdale mayoral candidate Jun Lee after 21 absentee ballots were mailed to his business, Black Belt World, a Tae Kwon-Do studio in Knightdale.

"It's illegal for any person to take possession of another person's absentee ballot," said Cherie Poucher, director of Wake's Board of Elections. "The fact that the ballots were mailed (to Lee's business) raises a red flag for us."

Board of Elections officials over the weekend will try to find out how each voter retrieved his or her ballot without Lee coming into contact with it, Poucher said.

She'll present her findings to the Board of Elections at 5 p.m. Monday.

If irregularities are found, the members will refer the case to the district attorney, and the ballots will not be counted.

Lee potentially faces a felony charge if he is found to have altered the ballots, Poucher said.

Lee has an explanation for the ballots: His TaeKwon-Do studio is also a daycare, where parents have mailboxes.

"I have not touched any of the ballots," Lee said. "They have nothing to do with me. I have no idea how many people had their ballots sent here."

According to the Wake Board of Elections, the voters who had their absentee ballots sent to Lee's business were Kristin Betsch, Deshara Burnham, Jia Chen, Tracie Crumel, Crescent Evans, Geraldine Hillmon, Kevin Hunter, Karen Kalas, Ebony Kirby, Henry Ku, Min Ku, Wonsuk Ku, Elijah Kyebah, Doris Moore, Rosa Njogu, James Perry, Garrett Pesta, Alea Rogers, Shaun Spruill, Wilfred Toppin, and Steven Walls.

Each has an address listed in Knightdale.

Suit against Lee

The investigation is the second snag in Lee's campaign in less than a week.

On Nov. 6, Chris Telesca, a former campaign worker for Lee, filed a small claim against Lee.

Telesca seeks $5,000 after being fired by Lee on Sept. 7, just 11 days after being hired to organize door-to-door campaigning efforts.

Telesca would have been paid $6,000 had he worked the duration of his contract, which lasted until Nov. 8, he says.

Lee said Telesca didn't show up for work and is using the upcoming election to scare Lee into paying Telesca money that "he isn't owed."

Telesca's lawsuit is the fourth civil suit filed against Lee this year and the 11th in the past three years. It's the only active lawsuit and the only one filed against Lee in his role as a candidate.