Election Fraud Cases

Melissa Sparks

Melissa Sparks, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to three felony charges of election fraud. She was sentenced to five years' community control and fined $250.

Source: https://herit.ag/3iTTDNd , (Case #CR 06 12 0244)

Alan Szabo

Alan Szabo, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of election fraud. He was sentenced to 60 days' imprisonment in the county jail, five years' community control, and was required to pay court costs, attorney's fees, and pay a $250 fine.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x2taSE , (Case #CR 06 11 0239)

Rachelle Zimmerman

Rachelle Zimmerman, of Hardin County, pleaded guilty to one county of felony election fraud. She was sentenced to two years' community control and ordered to pay a $50 fine and court costs.

Source: https://herit.ag/3l7VIIh , (Case #20072008)

Verline Mayo, Gertrude Otteridge, and Mary McClatcher

Verline Mayo, Gertrude Otteridge, and Mary McClatcher pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor voter fraud charges after admitting that, while acting as poll workers, they conspired to cast at least three falsified votes--two of them in the name of deceased voters--as part of a scheme to favor State Senate candidate Ophelia Ford. Ford won the 2005 election by only 13 votes, but the result was thrown out by the Senate citing the fraudulent votes. Mayo received two years' probation, $1,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service. Otteridge and McClatcher were sentenced to one year of probation plus fines and community service.

Source: https://herit.ag/3BLKvCX, https://herit.ag/3lIXxd3

Debra Briseno

A former Port Lavaca city councilwoman was sentenced to five years in prison for registering non-citizens to vote and tampering with government documents. During the trial, she acknowledged that she did not ask registrants about their citizenship, nor did she inform them that only United States citizens are eligible to vote. Illegal voting is a third-degree felony.

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

Raymond Villarreal

Raymond Villarreal, the then-County Commissioner of Refugio, pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme to rig the absentee vote in his favor during his 2006 primary race for commissioner. Villarreal first had registered voters request absentee ballots, but then routed the ballots to known supporters who would vote for Villarreal. He then had the original applicants sign the ballots. He was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail and given five years of probation. He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service and pay $2,500 in fines. Villarreal was forced to resign.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zH53L3

Ben Cooper and 14 co-conspirators

Former Appalachia mayor Ben Cooper and 14 others were convicted of voter fraud after conspiring to manipulate the 2004 elections in his town by buying the votes of residents, offering them cigarettes, beer, and pork rinds. He and his supporters also stole absentee ballots from the mail. This was the largest voter fraud conspiracy to date in Virginia. Cooper was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the term was suspended after he served two years in jail and another two years in electronic home monitoring detention. Most of the other 14 defendants received suspended sentences or house arrest.

Source: https://herit.ag/3jY1St9, https://herit.ag/3EmHZnf

Clifton Eugene Mitchell

ACORN workers in Seattle committed what the Secretary of State labeled as the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington's history. When ACORN's national office threatened to shut down the group's local office, Clifton Mitchell and his team began using fake names, addresses, birthdays, and social security numbers in order to meet their voter registration quotas. In a candid interview with CNN following his conviction, Clifton relayed how he and his fellow ACORN co-workers would take addresses from homeless shelters or use baby books and phone books to generate fake information. In total, the group submitted 1,762 fraudulent voter registration forms. Mitchell was convicted of false registrations and served nearly three months in jail. Four other ACORN workers on his team also received jail time. Additionally, prosecutors ordered ACORN to increase its oversight under threat of prosecution and fined the organization $25,000 to cover the cost of the investigation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x7VRxA, https://herit.ag/3zDNP12, https://herit.ag/3y3BCSZ

Ryan Olson

Ryan Olson pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to two felony counts of providing false information on a voter-registration application. Court Commissioner Kenneth Comstock sentenced him to 30 days in jail or in electronic home detention.

Source: https://herit.ag/373q8TD

Tina Johnson and Jayson Woods

Tina Johnson and Jayson Woods pleaded guilty to eight counts each of registration fraud. Each were sentenced to 120 days of jail, or 15 days for each count.

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

Kimberly Prude

Kimberly Prude, a campaign volunteer for the Kerry_Edwards campaign, was convicted of illegally casting an absentee ballot in the 2004 election. She was already a convicted felon for forgery charges in 2000. Her probation was revoked and she is now serving her sentence in prison.

Source: bit.ly/2tQMkfi

Michael Zore

Michael Zore was convicted of voting twice in the November 2006 election. Zore voted in two Milwaukee-area towns, Wauwatosa and West Allis. Zore claimed his double voting was due to a memory lapse, but a judge sentenced him to serve a year in the Milwaukee County House of Correction.

Source: bit.ly/2sQdNiT

Jason Holly, Jessica Sundell, and Donahue Farrow

Jason Holly and Jessica Sundell pleaded guilty in 2006 to a felony charge of fraudulent completion of an affidavit of registration, and were sentenced to three years' probation. It was discovered that more than 100 people who thought they were signing petitions to cure breast cancer and punish child molesters were actually registering as Republicans in an elaborate vote-flipping scheme. Donahue Farrow pleaded guilty in 2008 for his involvement in this scheme. He was sentenced to 46 days in jail and three years' probation. Five others have also pleaded guilty over their involvement in this scheme.

Source: https://herit.ag/372H4cT, https://herit.ag/3iWVHE4

Roger Treskunoff

A former Hayward County school board candidate pleaded guilty to registering fictitious voters and falsifying ballot initiatives, both felonies. Treskunoff was initially charged with over 40 felonies. He was sentenced to one year in prison, followed by five years' probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zFebQj, https://herit.ag/3yc368U,

Winston Keyes

Winston Keyes, of Denver, Colorado, pleaded guilty to voting twice in the 2005 general election. He forged his mother's signature on her absentee ballot, despite the fact that his mother had died in July of that year. He was sentenced to one year of probation and was ordered to pay court costs.

Source: https://herit.ag/3zFecnl, https://herit.ag/3ybqFyJ