Election Fraud Cases
Details
Edward Amirault, 79, pleaded guilty to the Class B felony of "Voting in More than One State Prohibited." Amirault had voted in the 2018 general election in New Hampshire by absentee ballot and then cast another ballot in the same election in-person in Massachusetts. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, all of which were suspended on the condition of two years of good behavior. Amirault was also ordered to pay a fine of $4,000 and a penalty assessment of $960 and was ordered to serve 100 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3scKvZw , https://herit.ag/3s7Pnz9
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Kimberly McPherson, a city of Troy council member and Republican, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft for casting absentee ballots in the names of two other people in the 2021 city council election. In seeking re-election, McPherson cast at least one absentee ballot on behalf of another during the primary election, and during the general election cast absentee ballots for at least two people other than herself. As part of her plea agreement, McPherson has agreed to resign her position on the city council. She faces up to 5 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced.
Source: https://herit.ag/3OObF1U , https://herit.ag/3QRV7HP
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Francis Presto of South Park, a registered Republican, requested and cast an absentee ballot on behalf of his deceased wife. He was charged with felonies for interfering with an election and unlawful use of a computer and a misdemeanor charge for forging a ballot. He was sentenced to a diversion program of 2 years and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service. His charges will be dropped upon completion of the terms of his diversion program.
Source: https://herit.ag/3ONL8BN, https://herit.ag/3P2FQT9, https://herit.ag/3OM1RoO
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Melissa Fisher was charged with a misdemeanor count of violating absentee and mail-in ballot provisions after signing and submitting an absentee ballot on behalf of her deceased mother during the 2020 general election in Quakertown. She pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and two unrelated theft charges and was sentenced to 3 to 23 months in prison and 3 years’ probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3A4ZlUV
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Cheryl Mihaliak was charged by the state in Lancaster County with two counts of forging and destroying ballots after filling out and submitting an absentee ballot on behalf of her deceased mother during the May 2022 primary election. Mihaliak had requested an absentee ballot for her and her mother (Teresa Mihaliak), as her caregiver, but her mother died on April 14 before she could fill out the ballot. However, the county board of elections received a ballot for the mother completed by her daughter on April 28. Mihaliak pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of forging and destroying ballots and was sentenced to 2 years of probation, assessed $1,610.75 in fines and fees, and is barred from voting for 4 years.
Source: https://herit.ag/46vmWwi , https://herit.ag/3MWw8mt , https://herit.ag/3GhgU7H
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Monica Mendez was charged with 26 felonies after her involvement in an absentee ballot trafficking scheme to alter the results of the May 2018 Bloomington water board election. Mendez served as a volunteer deputy registrar and was responsible for registering new voters in her official role. During this election, 275 people in Bloomington registered to vote all using the same post office box as a mailing address. However, the address was associated with a subsidized housing company who was attempting the sway the outcome of the election. According to the press release by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton "Mendez ran a vote-harvesting operation on behalf of a subsidized housing corporation in order to influence the outcome of a utility board election." Mendez Mendez pleaded guilty to 26 felony counts including three counts of illegal voting, eight counts of election fraud, seven counts of unlawful assistance to a voter to submit a ballot by mail, and eight counts of unlawful possession of a mail ballot. She was sentenced to five years of deferred adjudication probation, 80 hours of community service, and fined $1,415.
Source: https://herit.ag/3OMoYQ8 , https://herit.ag/3bxUROc, https://herit.ag/3OHfLsv
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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
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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
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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
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Mary Gebert, clerk for the town of Bergen in Marathon County, Wisconsin, was charged with one felony count of misconduct in public office, one felony count of election official destroying poll list, and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer during the 2020 General Election. Following the election, poll workers were unable to find one of the voter numbers, which they needed to match for accuracy. Gebert signed a random person's name without their knowledge to allegedly resolve the discrepancy. However, the person had moved out of Bergen and had voted in his or her new jurisdiction. Gebert pleaded guilty to one felony count of election official destroying poll list in exchange for dismissal of the other charges and was sentenced to two years of probation, fined $1,000, assessed $788 in court costs, and ordered not to participate in the administration or polling of any election.
Source: https://herit.ag/3tcPPPX, https://herit.ag/46qeQFS
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Michael Ray Overall was charged by the state in St. Croix County with illegal voting, election registration fraud, registering to vote in more than one place, and voting more than once, all felonies, after voting twice in the 2020 General Election. He voted once in person in Beloit, a town in Rock County, and again by absentee ballot in St. Croix County. He was found guilty by a jury of all the charges and ordered to pay a penalty of $4,711.90 plus post-judgment interest and engage in 80 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3EYuqfY, https://herit.ag/3RIR6IF
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Christine Daikawa was charged with absentee ballot fraud (a misdemeanor) and attempting to impersonate an elector (a felony) after submitting her dead partner's ballot during the 2020 general election. Daikawa pleaded no contest, and was adjudicated guilty, to both charges and was sentenced to 30 days for the misdemeanor charge and 60 days for the felony which will be served consecutively and ordered to pay $961 in court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/3RCOetk, https://herit.ag/3Cy05EF
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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
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Roland Bauer, of Winter Springs, was charged by the state with one count of fraud in connection with casting a vote and one count of mail-in ballot fraud for submitting a fraudulent absentee ballot during the 2020 General Election. He requested, filled out, and submitted an absentee ballot posing as his son, who lived in New Mexico. The son contacted law enforcement to report that someone had requested and submitted a ballot on his behalf in Florida, despite his not living in the state for the past seven years and his being registered to vote in New Mexico. Roland admitted his role in fraudulently casting a ballot for his son. He was sentenced to a pre-trial diversion program of 24 months; upon successful completion of the program his charges will be dropped. He was ordered to pay $50 per month during his program period and assessed $5,519.36 in fees.
Source: herit.ag/40Mz8r3 , herit.ag/3RSN66x , herit.ag/3Sb2qf7
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Janet Reed, an Evansville Democratic Party activist, was charged by the state with one count of unauthorized absentee ballot, a felony offense. Reed sent illegally pre-marked absentee ballots applications to voters ahead of the 2020 primary election. Reed filled out the applications by pre-selecting the Democrat Party where voters were supposed to choose a Republican or Democratic primary ballot. Reed included instructions that the section in question "needs no input." Reed kept sending the pre-marked applications even after receiving warnings from election officials and the Democrat Party. Reed pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months’ probation and ordered to pay restitution of $2,740 and court costs of $925. She was also barred from working on any elections during her probation. The court indicated that it would consider reducing the charge to a misdemeanor upon successful completion of probation.
Source: https://herit.ag/3VkpWGF, https://herit.ag/3TZLNlu, https://herit.ag/3Vmv4dc
Key & Definitions
Types of Cases
Any case that results in a defendant entering a plea of guilty or no contest, or being found guilty in court of election-related offenses.
A finding by a court of law that fraud occurred in an election, including judicial orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any civil case resulting in fines or other penalties imposed for a violation of election laws.
A finding by a government body that fraud occurred in an election, including orders overturning election results or ordering a new election due to fraud.
Any criminal case in which a judge directs a defendant into a pre-trial diversion program, or stays or defers adjudication with the understanding that the conviction will be cleared upon completion of the program.
Types of Voter Fraud
Requesting absentee ballots and voting without the knowledge of the actual voter; or obtaining the absentee ballot from a voter and either filling it in directly and forging the voter’s signature or illegally telling the voter who to vote for.
Illegal registration and voting by individuals who are not U.S. citizens, are convicted felons, or are otherwise not eligible to vote.
Voting in the name of other legitimate voters and voters who have died, moved away, or lost their right to vote because they are felons, but remain registered.
Paying voters to cast either an in-person or absentee ballot for a particular candidate.
Forging the signatures of registered voters on the ballot petitions that must be filed with election officials in some states for a candidate or issue to be listed on the official ballot
Registering in multiple locations and voting in the same election in more than one jurisdiction or state.
Voting under fraudulent voter registrations that either use a phony name and a real or fake address or claim residence in a particular jurisdiction where the registered voter does not actually live and is not entitled to vote.
Changing the actual vote count either in a precinct or at the central location where votes are counted.
Forcing or intimidating voters—particularly the elderly, disabled, illiterate, and those for whom English is a second language—to vote for particular candidates while supposedly providing them with “assistance.”
