Election Fraud Cases
Details
Leroy James Ross Jr was charged by the state in Alachua County with two felony counts of false swearing or submission of false voter registration information and one felony count of unqualified elector willfully voting in the 2020 General Election. Ross was ineligible as a convicted felon whose rights had not been restored; he has 12 felony and 30 misdemeanor convictions. He pleaded nolo contendere (which is treated as a guilty plea) to all counts. Ross was sentenced to 3 years of probation, ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, and assessed $621 in fines and court costs although Ross may perform community service in lieu of court costs at a rate of $11 per hour.
Source: https://herit.ag/3ZDp5US, https://herit.ag/46vrGCw , https://herit.ag/3ZH6MOP, https://herit.ag/3PIU1OW, https://herit.ag/3ZGu9aX
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John Boyd Rivers was charged by the state with one count of submission of false voter registration information and one count of unqualified elector willfully voting in the 2020 general election after registering despite being ineligible as a convicted felon. He was found guilty by a jury of willfully voting as an unqualified elector and acquitted of the other charge. He was sentenced to two years of probation and assessed $671 in court costs; he may perform community service in lieu of costs at the rate of $11 an hour.
Source: https://herit.ag/47aNPaA , https://herit.ag/47aNW60 , https://herit.ag/47c9cbA , https://herit.ag/3KecwJh
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John Rider of the Village of Virginia Trace was charged by the state with casting more than one ballot in an election, a felony, for voting twice in the 2020 General Election in Sumter County. He voted once in person in Florida during early voting and again by absentee ballot in New York. He was sentenced to a pre-trial diversion program where he was ordered to complete 50 hours of community service. Rider was allowed by the court to pay out his community service at the rate of $10 per hour or $500 in total. He was also assessed court fines and costs totaling $400.
Source: herit.ag/3HYG6QS , herit.ag/3IkEoKZ , herit.ag/3K8lxnQ
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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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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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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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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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Jason Schofield, a Republican Elections Commissioner for Rensselaer County Board of Elections in Troy, New York, was federally charged with 12 felony counts of unlawful possession and use of a means of identification of another person to fraudulently request, complete, and submit absentee ballots on behalf of voters during the 2021 Rensselaer County Primary and General elections. Schofield, and other Rensselaer election board employees working under his direction, used the New York State Board of Elections website to request absentee ballots on behalf of 8 voters using their names and dates of birth. These individuals had either no interest in voting absentee or otherwise, did not request absentee ballots or assistance to vote or obtain an absentee ballot, or did not know Schofield was using their personal information. Schofield personally obtained 4 absentee ballots knowing that the county board of elections records would falsely reflect the ballots were mailed to the voters via USPS. For the other 4 voters, Schofield completed the ballots and brought the ballots to the voters, instructed them to sign the ballot envelopes, which were submitted in the elections. Schofield pleaded guilty to all 12 felony charges He has resigned from his position as Commissioner of the Rensselaer County Board of Elections as part of his plea agreement and is ordered to pay an assessment of $1,200 at the time of sentencing. He faces a maximum of 5 years in prison and fines of $250,000 and cannot accept reappointment to the Board of Elections as long as he is on probation or supervised release.
Source: herit.ag/3RZwHxk , herit.ag/3HV4i6Y , herit.ag/3HUe74Z , herit.ag/3RSEZa9
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Ashley Gelman was charged by the state with one felony count of illegal voting and one felony count of election falsification after voting twice in the 2022 General Election. She voted early in person in Florida and again by absentee ballot in Ohio. Gelman was a former resident of Geauga County, but had moved to Broward County Florida in 2020. She pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of attempted election falsification. Gelman was sentenced to 4 days of residential community control at the Geauga County Safety Center, 1 year of probation, and fined $1,000.
Source: https://herit.ag/3PBpq5M, https://herit.ag/48tw4Up, https://herit.ag/3EVNGuu
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James Saunders was charged by the state in Cuyahoga County with two felony counts of illegal voting after voting twice in the General Elections in 2020 (for Pres. Trump) and 2022. In 2020, he voted early in-person in Ohio and again in-person on Election Day in Florida. In 2022, he cast an absentee ballot in Florida and voted in person in Ohio. The investigation revealed he had also voted twice in the 2014 and 2016 elections, but could not be prosecuted for these offenses because the statute of limitations had run. He was found guilty following a bench trial and sentenced to three years in jail and fined $10,000.
Source: herit.ag/44RnZWK , herit.ag/45R6x5U, https://herit.ag/3RD6fv3
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Daniel Schoonhoven was charged by the state in Brooking County with one count of attempting to vote twice in the 2022 general election. Schoonhoven voted early at the county government center and signed an affidavit confirming his identity because he did not have an ID. On election day, Schoonhoven went to his polling location and attempted to vote again. After being confronted with the fact he had already voted and even after election officials located his original ballot, Schoonhoven still denied voting and completed a provisional ballot. Schoonhoven was found guilty by a jury of voting more than once in an election and was sentenced to two years in prison, which was suspended for two years of probation, completion of 80 hours of community service, and payment of a fine of $750.
Source: https://herit.ag/475VczZ
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John Harter was charged by the state in Waukesha County with falsifying voter registration after falsely claiming his residential address on school board candidacy forms. Harter who was running for school board for the Hartland-Lakeside school district, falsely declared his residence at his father's house in Delafield despite living in the neighboring town of Brookfield, which is not in the school district. Harter pleaded guilty to 3 counts of falsifying voter registration and was sentenced to 30 days in jail (subject to work release during the day, referred to in Wisconsin as Huber release), fined $3,026, and assessed $400 in court costs.
Source: herit.ag/45SvqhF , herit.ag/3sZwT70
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Edward Malnar was charged by the state in Fond du Lac County with one felony count of voting more than once and one misdemeanor count of resisting or obstructing an officer after voting twice during the 2020 General Election. He voted by absentee ballot in Michigan and again in person in Wisconsin. He pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 15 days in jail (subject to work release during the day, referred to in Wisconsin as Huber release) and ordered to pay $5,221 in fines and court costs.
Source: herit.ag/3LpeRBx , herit.ag/3r5LPAd
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Lisa Campion of Manitowoc County was charged by the state with illegal voting in the 2020 General Election in the Town of Two Rivers despite being ineligible since she was a convicted felon who was still on probation. Campion also voted in a different town from the one named in the registration address she provided. This was discovered during a vote felon audit by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. She pleaded no contest to one count of falsifying voter registration, a misdemeanor, and was ordered to pay $1,083 in fines, court costs, and surcharges.
Source: herit.ag/3YO5HCS , herit.ag/3IhscL7 , herit.ag/3YLLVIl
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Jon Cooper was charged in Randoph County with one misdemeanor count of illegal voting after voting twice in the 2020 General Election. He voted in West Virginia and again in New Mexico. He pleaded guilty and was fined $500.
Source: herit.ag/3LkzsXK , herit.ag/3ZkpdZt , herit.ag/4697Fl9
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.”
