Election Fraud Cases
Rebecca Hammonds, of East Liverpool, pleaded guilty to 13 counts of making a false registration and one count of election falsification. While working as a canvasser for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Hammonds falsely registered voters, including deceased individuals and residents who no longer lived in the community. Hammonds was sentenced to serve 180 days in jail.
Dominique Atkins pleaded guilty to misdemeanor attempted illegal voting, admitting that she received, filled out, and returned two absentee ballots in the 2010 elections. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail, but the judge suspended her sentence if she agreed to pay a $500 fine.
Robert Gilchrist, a former director of the Lorain County Community Action Agency and a Lorain city official, was indicted on four felony counts of illegal voting. Gilchrist used the address of an old apartment to enable him to vote in four elections between November 2009 and May 2011 in a ward in which he did not live. Gilchrist was ordered to enter a one-year diversion program.
During the 2012 election, Russell Glassop obtained and submitted an absentee ballot in the name of his deceased wife. After Glassop pleaded guilty to absentee ballot fraud, the judge sentenced him to a diversion program.
Sister Marguerite Kloos pleaded guilty and resigned as the Dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities for The College of Mount St. Joseph's, after admitting that she cast an absentee ballot in the name of the late Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, who had died one month before the election. She was sentenced to a diversion program.
Virginia McMillan, a resident of Beavercreek, Ohio, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor falsification after voting twice in the 2012 election by mail before showing up at her polling place on Election Day to vote a second time. She was sentenced 180 days in jail (160 were later suspended), 88 hours of community service, and $250 in fines.
Melowese Richardson, a Cincinnati poll worker, voted twice in the 2012 election, once by absentee and once in person. Not an isolated event, she voted in the names of others--including her comatose sister--in three other elections. Richardson was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison, but was released early.
Debbie Tingler, of Reynoldsburg, pleaded guilty to illegal voting after she voted twice by absentee ballot, once under the name Debbie Tingler and once under Deborah Tingler. She received a suspended sentence of 120 days' imprisonment, fined $200, and court costs.
Marian Wilson, from Grove City, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegal voting. Wilson voted twice in the 2010 general election, requesting and submitting two absentee ballots under two different names--Marian Wilson and Marian Toles. She was sentenced to one year of probation.
During a 2012 campaign for the statewide ballot petition on the "Voters First Ohio Amendment," a group associated with the AFL-CIO called Working America hired Timothy Zureick to collect petition signatures. Zureick forged the names of 22 prominent Athens Democrats, including those on the Athens County Board of Elections. The Democrats on the board alerted officials when their signatures appeared on the petitions they were certifying. Zureick entered into a plea agreement that stipulated he serve no prison time, but the judge nevertheless sentenced him to a week in jail to impress upon Zureick the gravity of his actions. The judge also ordered Zureick to pay all court costs within 60 days, and to perform 100 hours of community service within the first 24 months of his community control.
Horace Crawford pleaded guilty to a charge of election falsification after he forged signatures on a petition to enter his name on the 2012 Democrat primary ballot for the 10th congressional district. The Montgomery County Board of Elections determined only seven signatures were valid and disqualified him from running for office. Crawford was sentenced to five years of community control.
Roshanda F. Croom pleaded guilty to one felony count of prohibited acts relating to petitions or declarations by filing false documents with election authorities. She was sentenced to 18 months on community control.
Brenda Griffin, of Dayton, was convicted of 18 felony charges of election falsifications, filing false petitions, and forging signatures relating to a liquor license ballot initiative. Griffin, the leading petition circulator for the liquor license, turned in 320 petition signatures, despite only 109 signatures being required. The fraud was discovered when the County Board of Elections contacted several supposed signers, who reported they did not sign the petition. Griffin's sentence was reduced from a possible six to 12 months of prison time to five years of probation.
Roger Schantz pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal voting. Though registered in South Carolina, he also registered in Ohio and voted in both states in 2008 and 2010. He was sentenced to seven days' imprisonment in an Ohio corrections center, as well one year under community control, and was fined $500.
Joseph Copija, of Oceanside, California, pleaded guilty to charges of election falsification and complicity to election falsification. He forged signatures on a ballot petition aiming to get a casino initiative on the Ohio ballot in 2008. Copija was sentenced to six months' imprisonment and ordered to pay court costs.
