Election Fraud Cases
Details
Michael Dewayne Collins Jr., of Escambia County, was charged by the state with one felony count of unqualified voting and four felony counts of perjury for registering to vote and voting as a felon in the 2020 election. Collins Jr. is a convicted sex offender whose rights had not been restored and therefore was ineligible to vote. He completed four separate voter registration applications between 2020 and 2022 and voted in person in the 2020 General Election. Collins Jr. pleaded no contest to all counts and was sentenced to 36 months’ probation for each count (the sentences to run concurrently), assessed $53 per month for costs of supervision and $518 in court costs, and ordered to complete 200 hours of community service.
Source: https://herit.ag/3XMRJUj , https://herit.ag/4dhtLVA , https://herit.ag/3XweFG2
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Charles Hurd was charged by the state in Madison County with first-degree election misconduct, a felony, for attempting to vote twice in the 2022 general election. Hurd voted by absentee ballot and again in-person on election day; despite telling poll workers and signing an affidavit claiming he had not already cast a ballot. Hurd pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of third-degree election misconduct, a serious misdemeanor under state law. He was ordered to pay court costs, a fine, and a surcharge totaling $1,669.85.
Source: herit.ag/3Sbm4bO , herit.ag/3yd5otE , herit.ag/4cL3r6L , herit.ag/4d8Vicp , herit.ag/3S7BePt
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David Badon was charged by the state in Macon County with two felony counts of voting more than once after he voted twice in the 2022 Illinois primary election. He voted early in May 2022 and then again on June 28. He entered into a diversion program for six months under which the criminal charges were dismissed, subject to being refiled if he fails to comply with the program’s conditions including paying the required fees.
Source: herit.ag/3PEsbo4 , herit.ag/3PEsb7y , herit.ag/3PEsaR2
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Christopher Coyle, the former Clark County Clerk Democratic candidate and former chairman of the Clark County Democratic Party, was charged by the state with 3 felony counts of filing a fraudulent report, voting outside precinct, and address change violation, after falsely claiming his residency in Clark County and voting during the 2022 election. He filed a false report with the Clark County Clerk's Office claiming he lived in Memphis despite having sold his home and not updated his driver's license or voter registration to reflect the fact that he was now living in Louisville, Kentucky. He then voted in person in Sellersburg on Election Day. He admitted the conduct and entered into a diversion agreement. The charges were dropped upon completion of the program.
Source: herit.ag/3NC4D1W , herit.ag/3RQ1Ch2 , herit.ag/3RRNCDi
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Lisa Jackson, of Mount Hernon, was charged by the state with one felony count of engaging in organized crime, 17 felony counts of making or receiving expenditures for voting, and one count of first degree persistent felony offender after her participation in a conspiracy by the Jackson family to bribe voters or obtain blank ballots from registered voters to help elect James "Darrell" Jackson, a Monroe County Constable, to the position of Monroe County Jailor during the 2022 Republican primary election. The fraud was uncovered after a tip was submitted to the Attorney General's Election Fraud Hotline. She pleaded guilty to all counts and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Source: herit.ag/4dYrsZg , herit.ag/3X0k89e
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Sherrye Jackson, of Tompkinsville, was charged by the state with one felony count of engaging in organized crime and one felony count of first degree perjury after her participation in a conspiracy by the Jackson family to bribe voters or obtain blank ballots from registered voters to help elect James "Darrell" Jackson, a Monroe County Constable, to the position of Monroe County Jailor, during the 2022 Republican primary election. The fraud was uncovered after a tip was submitted to the Attorney General's Election Fraud Hotline. Jackson, who had prior felony convictions on her record, pleaded guilty to her felony charges and entered a pretrial diversion program for 5 years.
Source: herit.ag/4dYrsZg , herit.ag/3X0k89e
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Bonnie McClendon, of Tompkinsville, was charged by the state with one felony count of first degree perjury and two felony counts of making or receiving expenditures for voting after her participation in a conspiracy by the Jackson family to bribe voters or obtain blank ballots from registered voters to help elect James "Darrell" Jackson, a Monroe County Constable, to the position of Monroe County Jailor during the 2022 Republican primary election. She pleaded guilty to all charges and entered a pretrial diversion program for 5 years.
Source: herit.ag/4dYrsZg , herit.ag/3X0k89e
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November 2023 Caddo Parish Sheriff Runoff Election
The results of the 2023 Caddo Parish Sheriff Runoff Election, which was decided by one vote, were overturned by a judge due to at least 11 illegal votes that were cast. John Nickelson and Henry Whitehorn won an earlier primary election and faced each other in the November 18 runoff election. The results of the election showed Whitehorn receiving 21,621 votes and Nickelson receiving 21,620 votes. The court found that 2 individuals voted twice in the election, by mail and again in person. Four individuals voted who were under court interdiction (declared mentally incompetent) and thus ineligible to vote. Five individuals submitted absentee ballots that did not have proper signatures or comply with witness requirements under Louisiana law. Due to the illegal votes, it was impossible to determine the result of the election and it was declared void. A new election was ordered to "ensure the public's right to untainted election results." The new election resulted in Whitehorn winning.
Source: https://herit.ag/3XMR0Cq , https://herit.ag/3XQsSz1 , https://herit.ag/3XyHRMp
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Francis Bagnall, a non-citizen, was charged by the state in Baltimore County with one misdemeanor count of fraudulent voting and one misdemeanor charge of false voter registration after voting in ten separate elections including the 2018 Maryland Gubernatorial General Election. Bagnall fraudulently claimed to be a United States citizen when he registered to vote in 1996 and was ineligible to vote when he cast a ballot in the 2018 election. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to “probation before judgment” with a 3-year period of unsupervised probation under a Maryland statute designed to allow aliens to escape the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction.
Source: https://herit.ag/4dcbdGb , https://herit.ag/3XQNQOj , https://herit.ag/3zfQ0gV , https://herit.ag/4es7NQO
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Nancy Williams was charged by the state in Wayne County with 3 felony counts of forging a signature on an absentee ballot, 2 felony counts of election law forgery, 5 misdemeanor counts of false statements on applications for absentee ballots, and 7 misdemeanor counts of receiving a payment to influence vote after participating in an absentee ballot trafficking scheme involving elderly voters at a nursing care facility. She submitted voter registration and absentee ballot applications for 26 legally incapacitated residents under her care without their consent. Williams had the absentee ballots mailed directly to her. She pleaded guilty to 7 counts of receiving a payment to influence vote in exchange for dismissal of the other charges, was sentenced to one year of probation, fined $3,500, and assessed $1,096 in fees. Similar charges against Williams in Oakland County are still pending.
Source: herit.ag/3EHTtE1 , herit.ag/3rdlfVE
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Kathy Funk, a Democrat Flint Township clerk and Flint County election supervisor, was charged by the state with one count of ballot tampering and one count of misconduct in office, both felonies, in the August 2020 primary in which she was on the ballot and won her election by 79 votes. Funk claimed someone broke into a room at the Flint Township Hall. However, her lawyer stipulated that she broke the seal on a secure ballot canister, which invalidated the ballots so they could not be counted, and no one else was charged with breaking and entering the Hall. Funk pleaded no contest to one count of misconduct in office in exchange for not receiving prison time and having the ballot tampering charge dismissed. She is awaiting sentencing. Her employment with the county was terminated in December 2022.
Source: herit.ag/3IkAgdY , herit.ag/3K6eb4i
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Larry Divis was charged by the state in Colfax County with one felony count of election falsification. Divis was a resident of Columbus, but falsely claimed that he resided in the Village of Richland when he registered and voted in the 2020 General Election. Divis falsely voted in Richland, where he owns property but does not reside, in an effort to unseat members of the Village Board who had voted to change nuisance ordinances, which upset Divis. He was found guilty by a jury and fined $10,000.
Source: herit.ag/3EGoTe2, herit.ag/45zCb74
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Scott Kudrick was charged by the state with one felony count and three misdemeanor counts of wrongful voting and unsworn falsification. Kudrick registered and voted in Conway in the April 13, 2021, town election despite being ineligible as a non-resident (he was a resident of Norwell, Massachusetts). He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges, with an agreement that the felony charge will be dismissed upon successful completion of a diversion program. He was sentenced to 180 days’ confinement, which was suspended pending successful completion of two years’ probation. Under the terms of the diversion program, Kudrick is required to complete 100 hours of community service and remain arrest-free for one year. He was also assessed a fine of $4,960 and lost the right to vote in New Hampshire.
Source: herit.ag/3WVSJp7 , herit.ag/3yMYviB
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Jacob Wohl, and his partner, John "Jack" Burkman, (both Republican operatives) were involved in a robocall phone scheme in which thousands of calls were made in the name of a non-existent group called Project 1599 to voters in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois urging voters not to vote by mail during the summer of 2020. The robocalls, which were designed to suppress the vote in predominantly black communities, falsely stated that voting by mail could lead to voter information being harvested by law enforcement, debt collectors, and other government agencies to enforce outstanding warrants and collect outstanding debts. They were sued, along with their lobbying firm (J.M. Burkman & Associates), by the New York Attorney General, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and several individual victims, and subsequently entered into a consent decree in which they agreed to pay the up to $1.25 million to the victims and to the State of New York. The Federal Communications Commission also issued a $5,134,500 penalty against Wohl, Burkman, and their lobbying firm related to the robocall scheme. Wohl and Burkman also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Ohio (see entry in Ohio) and are currently facing charges in Michigan for their robocall scheme.
Source: herit.ag/3wK6X1P , herit.ag/4aKiADA , herit.ag/4bWkouq
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John "Jack" Burkman, and his partner, Jacob Wohl, (both Republican operatives) were involved in a robocall phone scheme in which thousands of calls were made in the name of a non-existent group called Project 1599 to voters in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois urging voters not to vote by mail during the summer of 2020. The robocalls, which were designed to suppress the vote in predominantly black communities, falsely stated that voting by mail could lead to voter information being harvested by law enforcement, debt collectors, and other government agencies to enforce outstanding warrants and collect outstanding debts. They were sued, along with their lobbying firm (J.M. Burkman & Associates), by the New York Attorney General, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and several individual victims, and subsequently entered into a consent decree in which they agreed to pay the up to $1.25 million to the victims and to the State of New York. The Federal Communications Commission also issued a $5,134,500 penalty against Wohl, Burkman, and their lobbying firm related to the robocall scheme. Wohl and Burkman also pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Ohio (see entry in Ohio) and are currently facing charges in Michigan for their robocall scheme.
Source: herit.ag/3wK6X1P , herit.ag/4aKiADA , herit.ag/4bWkouq
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.”
