Election Fraud Cases
Details
Michael Anderson was charged by the state in Hillsborough County with one count of election voting by an unqualified voter and one count of false swearing after registering and voting in the 2020 General Election. He was ineligible as a felon with a prior sex offense conviction whose right to vote had not been restored. Anderson pleaded guilty to one count of voting by an unqualified voter. He was sentenced to 6 months of probation, and he was assessed $560 in fees, penalties, and court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/478rdY4 , https://herit.ag/3Oh8O2F
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Nathan Hart, 49, was charged by the state in Hillsborough County with two felonies, voting as an unqualified voter and false swearing. Hart was a felon whose right to vote had not yet been restored. He was acquitted by a jury on the charge of illegally voting, but found guilty of lying on his voter registration application. Hart was sentenced to 24 months of probation, 100 hours of community service, and assessed $701 in court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/41y8dip , https://herit.ag/40yAzIg , https://herit.ag/40vvro1
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Luis Villaran was charged by the state in Palm Beach County for false affirmation in connection with an election and voting as an unqualified elector. Villaran voted in the 2020 election despite being ineligible since he was a felon and registered sex offender. Villaran pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 1 day in jail, with credit for time-served, and 6 months of probation. He was assessed $250 in court costs, fees, and surcharges.
Source: https://herit.ag/41rx5Zf, https://herit.ag/41PFbLD, https://herit.ag/41vJFqm
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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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Hubert Jack was charged by the state in Hillsborough County with one count of election voting by an unqualified voter and one count of false swearing. Jack registered and voted in the 2020 General Election. He was ineligible as a felon with a prior conviction for sexual battery whose right to vote had not been restored. Jack pleaded guilty to both counts and was sentenced to 6 months of probation and assessed $560 in fees, penalties, and court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/47bCTsY , https://herit.ag/44FAyFb
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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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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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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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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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Judy Taylor was charged by the state in Mingo County with one misdemeanor count of false swearing on an absentee ballot application after applying for an absentee ballot on behalf of a non-resident during the 2020 General Election. She completed an application for an absentee ballot for an ineligible non-resident, despite state law only permitting voters to apply for an absentee ballot. Taylor pleaded no contest to one count of false swearing and entered a pre-trial diversion program for one year.
Source: https://herit.ag/3KecxwP , https://herit.ag/47bCUx2
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Richard Fox was charged by the state with one count of illegal voting after voting twice in the 2020 General Election. Fox voted by absentee ballot in Florida and then again by absentee ballot in West Virginia. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of illegal voting and was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended for one year of probation, and fined $1,000.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rOCSLy , https://herit.ag/3KecxNl , https://herit.ag/47c9cbA
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Tracey Kay McKee, of Scottsdale, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of illegal voting and one count of perjury. McKee, a registered Republican, cast a ballot in the name of her deceased mother in the 2020 general election. She pleaded guilty to one count of illegal voting, a felony, was sentenced to two years of probation, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $2,144 in fines and fees.
Source: https://herit.ag/3HUHrXH, https://herit.ag/3GVHMZ4 , https://herit.ag/3sb2oYw
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Guillermina Fuentes and Alma Yadira Juarez
Guillermina Fuentes was charged with one count of ballot abuse for ballot trafficking during the 2020 primary election. Fuentes was the former mayor of San Luis, is a well-known political figure in her community, and works as a political consultant. Using that influence, Fuentes persuaded voters to allow her to collect their ballots and, in some instances, fill out ballots on behalf of the voters. Fuentes admitted that she "knowingly collect[ed] ballots from another person, and those early ballots belonged to individuals for whom I am not a family member, household member, or caregiver." She pleaded guilty to one count of ballot abuse. She will be sentenced at the end of June.
Source: https://herit.ag/3blsnHe, https://herit.ag/3Ot2nIP, https://herit.ag/3OJy1RV
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Marcia Johnson, 70, of Lake Havasu City pleaded guilty to the Class D felony of Voting More Than Once in the November 2018 general election. Johnson cast her own mail-in ballot as well as one sent to her deceased father whose name remained on the voter rolls after his death in 2012. She was sentenced to one year of probation, charged a special assessment of $100, and fined $1,000.
Source: https://herit.ag/3IQEE1n, https://herit.ag/3iPCODu , https://herit.ag/3JW6n21, https://herit.ag/3tVwII2
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.”
