Election Fraud Cases

Joseph John Marak

Joseph John Marak, 62, pleaded guilty to one felony count of Submission of a Materially False Voter Registration Application. Marak claimed on his application that he was not a convicted felon when he had been convicted of 18 felony counts and served several years in prison. He admitted to illegally voting in six federal elections since 2016. Marak was sentenced to 30 months of supervised probation and fined $2,400.

Source: https://herit.ag/3DGdrhf , https://herit.ag/3K3LVN2

Tracey Kay McKee

Tracey Kay McKee, of Scottsdale, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of illegal voting and one count of perjury. McKee, a registered Republican, cast a ballot in the name of her deceased mother in the 2020 general election. She pleaded guilty to one count of illegal voting, a felony, and will be sentenced in March.

Source: https://herit.ag/3HUHrXH, https://herit.ag/3GVHMZ4

Marcia Johnson

Marcia Johnson, 70, of Lake Havasu City pleaded guilty to the Class D felony of Voting More Than Once in the November 2018 general election. Johnson cast her own mail-in ballot as well as one sent to her deceased father whose name remained on the voter rolls after his death in 2012. She was sentenced to one year of probation, charged a special assessment of $100, and fined $1,000.

Source: https://herit.ag/3IQEE1n, https://herit.ag/3iPCODu , https://herit.ag/3JW6n21, https://herit.ag/3tVwII2

Kimberly Chaouch

Kimberly Chaouch pleaded no contest to one felony count of registering to vote at the address of former councilmember Jace Dawson despite not living there for the June 2020 Compton City Council run-off election. She was charged with illegally voting for Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan, who won that election by one vote. She will be sentenced in May. 

Source: https://herit.ag/3BqdRXD, https://herit.ag/3JojWqu

Toni Morris

Toni Morris pleaded no contest to one felony count of registering to vote at the address of former councilmember Jace Dawson despite not living there for the June 2020 Compton City Council run-off election. She was charged with illegally voting for Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan, who won that election by one vote. She will be sentenced in May. 

Source: https://herit.ag/3rSRRl9 , https://herit.ag/3oVoKvM

Barry Reed

Barry Reed pleaded no contest to one felony count of registering to vote at the address of former councilmember Jace Dawson despite not living there for the June 2020 Compton City Council run-off election. She was charged with illegally voting for Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan, who won that election by one vote. He will be sentenced in May. 

Source: https://herit.ag/3Bo6uzW , https://herit.ag/3JBDM1F

Trenae Ryesha Rainey

Trenae Myesha Rainey, 28, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of making a false statement on an absentee ballot application. During the 2020 general election, Rainey, an employee at an assisted living facility, completed roughly two dozen absentee voter applications, forging individual signatures of residents. She then handed over the ballots to another employee, whom she instructed to send the absentee ballot requests to the county election clerk. Rainey was sentenced to two years' probation, in which the first 45 days would be spent in the county jail.

Source: https://herit.ag/3K0oJzc, https://herit.ag/3DptHCW

Carless Clark

Carless Clark, 59, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of forging a signature on another individual's absentee ballot. In the 2020 general election, Clark signed and returned her grandson's absentee ballot, citing her concern that he would not have enough time to vote in-person on Election Day, which the grandson did. Clark was sentenced to twelve months' probation and nineteen days of community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/3uFWbEt, https://herit.ag/3iRCVi4

Marlena Jackson

Marlena Jackson, wife of Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor election fraud. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Jackson's husband Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from two paid campaign workers and Jackson to increase the ballots in Brown's favor. Jackson working with Brown and his crew, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Marlena was originally charged with close to 100 different felony charges including providing false information on a voting application, election fraud, and tampering with a government record with the intent to defraud or harm. Jackson was sentenced to a year's probation and a $2,445 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/33qzzOJ, https://herit.ag/3oSoH3O , https://herit.ag/3rRxrc7, https://herit.ag/3GVHG3E

Charlie Burns Jr.

Charlie Burns Jr., campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Shannon Brown participated in a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife Marlena Jackson, Burns, and DeWayne Ward, another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote total for Brown. Burns working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, providing incorrect information to voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filing out the ballots and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Burns was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year's probation, and fined $445.

Source: https://herit.ag/3gSxiyS , https://herit.ag/3oSxz9F, https://herit.ag/3rUront, https://herit.ag/3GNZihK

DeWayne Ward

DeWayne Ward, campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme during the 2018 Longview City Council Democratic primary election. During that election, Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife, Marlena Jackson, Ward, and Charlie Burns Jr. another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote tally in Brown's favor. Ward, working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Ward was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year's probation, and fined $445.

Source: https://herit.ag/3HXp7gz, https://herit.ag/3LBeQZV , https://herit.ag/3sMrGf3, https://herit.ag/3uSSbSK

Neil Kitchens

Neil Kitchens, a former Republican state assembly candidate, was charged with claiming a false residency for candidacy in the 2018 general election. Kitchens claimed residency in the 30th district, when he actually lived in the neighboring 29th district. Kitchens pleaded no contest to one felony charge of filing a false declaration of candidacy and was sentenced to two years of probation.

Source: bit.ly/3qDBZ21, bit.ly/3cnYvH3

Alex Campbell

Alex Campbell, Republican city councilman and mayor pro tem of Crescent City, California, falsely claimed his residence was within city limits when submitting his candidacy for councilman. Campbell was charged with two felony counts of perjury and one count of false declaration of his candidacy and pleaded guilty to one count of making a false declaration of candidacy. He faces up to two years of probation and $20,000 in fines for his charge.

Source: https://herit.ag/3vJP26e, https://herit.ag/3ba1J0G

Caesar Peter Abutin

Caesar Abutin, of Norwalk, voted under the name of his deceased mother three times between 2012 and 2014. He was charged with one count of impersonating another voter, one count of fraudulently requesting an absentee ballot, and one count of fraudulent voting, all felony charges. He entered a diversion program with supervised probation for 12 months and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service. If he successfully completes the program, the charges against him will be dismissed.

Source: https://herit.ag/2TCrAcu, https://herit.ag/3vLXjqd, https://herit.ag/3beDMoU

Jan (Wilson) Cummer

Following a bench trial, Jan Wilson was convicted of voting twice by absentee ballot in the Nov. 3, 2020 general election, a misdemeanor offense. Wilson was ordered to pay a $500 fine plus court costs.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f22rzg