Election Fraud Cases

Steveland Kidd

Steveland Kidd pleaded guilty to two counts of violating absentee ballots during a municipal election in April 2013. Kidd took possession of, and delivered, an absentee ballot to election authorities despite not being legally allowed to do so. The crime is a Class Three felony. Kidd was sentenced to 12 days in the St. Clair County Jail and is now barred from engaging in campaign-related activities or electioneering.

Source: https://herit.ag/3750cqQ, https://herit.ag/3rDnvBs

Max Judson

Max Judson was convicted of election fraud and witness tampering during the 2014 primary election. While a candidate for city council during the election, he admitted that he solicited someone he knew not to be a resident of the district to cast an absentee ballot. He also admitted that when he realized he was being investigated, he attempted to intervene and deter the voter from communicating with law enforcement. He was sentenced to one year and one day in prison in addition to one year of supervised release and a $500 fine. He was also forced to resign from his seat on the Sullivan County Council.

Source: https://herit.ag/374MQLa, https://herit.ag/3zJOWfw, https://herit.ag/3rANWaM, bit.ly/2pL2u9h

Michelle Marie Landsteiner

Michelle Marie Landsteiner forged the signature and voted for a family member during the 2016 Minnesota primary. However, the family member had already registered to vote elsewhere, and her ballot was flagged. Upon review, the voter's signature and the witness's signature looked extremely similar. Landsteiner pled guilty to unlawful voting and was sentenced to one year of probation and nearly $600 in fees. A 90-day jail sentence will be waived after completing her probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3x7RTFd

Melvin Howell

Melvin Howell, of Asbury Park, pleaded guilty to a fourth degree felony charge after she filled out applications for nonexistent voters in a local school board election. According to the Union County Clerk, at least 54 ballots were tainted with irregularities. Howell was sentenced to one year of probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/3yf2YWw, https://herit.ag/3zH52Xv

Tyron Davis

Tyron Davis, a former constable in Ellis County, Texas, was convicted of six counts of voter fraud for assisting nursing home residents with their mail-in ballots and voter registration applications without identifying his assistance on the ballot. He was also convicted of false identification as a peace officer for having pasted an image of his face onto the body of a peace officer for use on a flier advertising his assistance at the nursing home during his campaign, all before he became an officer. Davis resigned his officer's license to avoid jail time.

Source: https://herit.ag/2Wi1iNC, https://herit.ag/3yb4msS

Daniel W. Reynolds

Daniel W. Reynolds pleaded guilty to three counts of absentee ballot fraud and was sentenced to two years' probation. Reynolds, the chief campaign volunteer for Commissioner Amos Newsome, participated in falsifying absentee ballots in the Dothan District 2 election between Newsome and his rival Lamesa Danzey in the summer of 2013.

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

Audrey Cook

Audrey Cook, a Madison County election judge, sent in a ballot marked for Donald Trump in the 2016 election on behalf of her recently deceased husband. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of attempted violation of the election code in exchange for dropping a felony perjury charge.

Source: https://herit.ag/3i4wdW6, https://herit.ag/3l1p4aZ, https://herit.ag/3x95kEW

Lowell "Ross" Colen

Lowell "Ross" Colen, a 10-year veteran of the Rising Sun Police Department, was forced to resign after pleading guilty to four counts of felony voter fraud. Colen was accused of illegally trying to help his father win election to the Rising Sun City Council by completing absentee voter applications and filling out ballots for people who were not eligible to vote in the county, and in some cases forging signatures. Colen evidently conducted some of this illegal activity while in uniform and on duty. He pleaded guilty to four counts of felony vote fraud and was sentenced to concurrently serve one year in prison and 185 days' probation.

Source: bit.ly/2mlTkMl, bit.ly/2l07BNH, bit.ly/2lpehs4

Nancy Sullivan

Nancy Sullivan, a resident of Windham, admitted having committed voter fraud in the 2014 general election. Sullivan fraudulently obtained an absentee ballot in the name of her son, Avery Galloway, by forging his signature on an absentee ballot request form, as well as on the envelope containing the completed ballot. Sullivan avoided criminal prosecution and the permanent loss of her ability to vote by paying a fine as a civil penalty and signing a consent agreement with the Attorney General.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f2mzl1

Ana Cuevas

Ana Cuevas, a campaign aide for Hector Ramirez, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct after she and other staff went door to door tricking potential voters into signing absentee ballot applications. They then took the applications to the Board of Elections, retrieved the absentee ballots, and voted for Ramirez without the voters' knowledge. Cuevas was sentenced to conditional discharge.

Source: https://herit.ag/3f1ksxT

Hector Ramirez

Hector Ramirez pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument. Ramirez, a 2014 State Assembly Candidate for the 86th District Assemby District, deceived voters into giving their absentee ballots to his campaign on the false premise that the campaign would then submit the ballots. Instead, Ramirez's campaign inserted his name on at least thirty-five of the absentee ballots. Ramirez initially won the 2014 race, but a recount determined he had lost by two votes. In lieu of jail time, Bronx Supreme Court Justice Steven Barrett imposed a three-year ban on Ramirez running for office. Ramirez could face jail time if he runs for office in violation of his three-year ban. Prior to his guilty plea, Ramirez unsuccessfully ran for the same state assembly seat on numerous occasions, most recently in the 2016 election.

Source: https://herit.ag/3rDWtd7, https://herit.ag/2TCrzFs, https://herit.ag/3eYoWVW

Graciela Sanchez

Prosecutors charged Graciela Sanchez with four misdemeanor counts of violating election law in an effort to assist Guadalupe Rivera win re-election to the post of Weslaco city commissioner in 2013. Rivera and Sanchez were found to have illegally "assisted" absentee ballot voters. The results of the election were disputed, and a judge determined that 30 ballots had been illegally cast in an election decided by only 16 votes. Sanchez pleaded guilty and received two years' probation.

Source: bit.ly/2f8AtkT, bit.ly/2f8AtkT

Guadalupe Rivera

Guadalupe Rivera, a former Weslaco city commissioner, pleaded guilty to one count of providing illegal "assistance" to a voter by filling out an absentee ballot "in a way other than the way the voter directed or without direction from the voter." The fraud took place during Rivera's 2013 re-election bid, which he won by a scant 16 votes. His challenger sued alleging fraud, and a judge determined that 30 ballots had been illegally cast, enough to alter the outcome of the election. A new election was subsequently held, and Rivera lost. Rivera originally faced 16 election-related charges, 15 of which were dropped as part of his plea deal. He was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

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

Janice Lee Hart

Janice Lee Hart pleaded guilty to eight misdemeanor counts of attempted absentee ballot fraud in connection with misconduct while working on the 2013 campaign for District 2 City Commissioner Amos Newsome. Prosecutors charged that Hart was not present when absentee ballots were signed even though she was listed as a witness on the ballots. In the election, Newsome defeated his challenger by only 14 votes and received 119 out of the 124 absentee ballots cast. A judge sentenced Hart to 12 months in the county jail for each count, which he suspended to two years of probation for each count.

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

Lesa Coleman

A Houston County jury found Lesa Coleman guilty of seven felony counts of absentee ballot fraud related to the 2013 election for a city commission seat. Coleman received a three year split sentence. She will serve 180 days in jail followed by three years of probation.

Source: https://herit.ag/372sHFk, https://herit.ag/3rGpuVM