Election Fraud Cases
Details
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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John “Jack” Burkman, along with his accomplice Jacob Wahl, was charged by the state with 15 felony counts for a robocall phone scheme in which calls were made in the name of a non-existent group called the 1599 project to tens of thousands of voters in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois urging voters not to vote by mail during the summer of 2020. The robocalls falsely stated that voting by mail could lead to voter information being harvested by law enforcement, debt collectors, and other government agencies. Burkman was charged with eight counts of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of “bribery” by attempting to induce individuals through unlawful means not to register or vote. He pleaded guilty to one count of telecommunications fraud in exchange for the dismissal of all other charges. He was sentenced to 180 days of house arrest with GPS monitoring, 24 months of probation, fined $2,500, plus $20 per month in supervision fees, and ordered to complete 500 hours of community service in a voter registration drive aimed at low and middle income individuals in the Washington D.C. area.
Source: herit.ag/3G510OC , herit.ag/3hAr62F, herit.ag/3V9PYfa, herit.ag/3WqjAWO, herit.ag/3YxkX82
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Jacob Wohl, along with his accomplice John “Jack” Burkman, was charged by the state with 15 felony counts for a robocall phone scheme in which calls were made in the name of a non-existent group called the 1599 project to tens of thousands of voters in Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois urging voters not to vote by mail during the summer of 2020. The robocalls falsely stated that voting by mail could lead to voter information being harvested by law enforcement, debt collectors, and other government agencies. Wohl was charged with eight counts of telecommunications fraud and seven counts of “bribery” by attempting to induce individuals through unlawful means not to register or vote. He pleaded guilty to one count of telecommunications fraud in exchange for the dismissal of all other charges. He was sentenced to 180 days of house arrest with GPS monitoring, 24 months of probation, fined $2,500, plus $20 per month in supervision fees, and ordered to complete 500 hours of community service in a voter registration drive aimed at low and middle income individuals in the Washington D.C. area.
Source: herit.ag/3G510OC , herit.ag/3hAr62F, herit.ag/3V9PYfa , herit.ag/3jdN5wS
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Edward Snodgrass, a registered Republican and a Porter Township Trustee, was charged with one felony count of illegal voting after submitting an absentee ballot on behalf of his deceased father in the 2020 General Election. As part of his plea deal, Snodgrass pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of falsification, was sentenced to three days in jail, and fined $500.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BsROzS , https://herit.ag/3uVbsmM, https://herit.ag/3uRpXYz
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Irnatine Boayue was charged by the state with one count of illegal voting during the 2016 general election. Boayue registered to vote despite being ineligible as a non-citizen. She pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of attempted false voter registration and was sentenced to one day in the Franklin County Correction Center. The court waived fines and court costs on account of the defendant's indigency.
Source: https://herit.ag/3i69USh, https://herit.ag/3TTpT3D, https://herit.ag/3EyoYQg
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Yaakov M. Schulman, of Columbus, was found guilty of illegal voting for voting as an alien. Schulman was charged with one count of false election registration and one count of illegal voting, and was found gulty of illegal voting, a fourth degree felony, by a jury. He was sentenced to community control (probation) for two years, ordered to complete cognitive behavioral programming, and was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and $1,812 in court fees.
Source: https://herit.ag/3kYebqx, Case no. 17 CR 005021
Details
Reginald Holman, of Plymouth, registered to vote in Ashtabula when he actually lived with his parents in Plymouth. He was running for, and won, a position on the City Council in Ashtabula, a position for which he was ineligible. Holman resigned from his position during the investigation. Holman was charged with two counts of election falsification and one count of false voter registration, and he pled guilty to one count of election falsification. He was sentenced to ninety days in jail, which were suspended, one year of probation, and was assessed a $150 fine, plus court costs.
Source: https://herit.ag/2UV47DV
Details
Leslie C. Allen, of Columbus, was found guilty of attempted illegal voting. Allen was charged with one count of illegal voting, and pleaded guilty to attempted illegal voting, a fifth degree felony. She was sentenced to community control (probation) for twelve months, and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $168 in court fees.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l1N4ej , Case no.005022
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Gilbert A. Brown, of Columbus, pled guilty to False Voter Registration in violation of Section 3599.11 of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony in the Fifth degree. Brown was charged with one count of false election registration and one count of illegal voting, and pleaded guilty to false voter registration. He was sentenced to community control (probation) for twelve months.
Source: https://herit.ag/3y9XxIi, Case no.17 CR 005023
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Ana Matias, of Columbus, pled guilty to False Voter Registration in violation of Section 3599.11 of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony in the Fifth degree. Matias was charged with three counts of false election registration and two counts of illegal voting, and pleaded guilty to false voter registration. She was sentenced to community control (probation) for two years and was ordered to pay $423 in court fees.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l9XMPE, Case no. 17 CR 005017
Details
Janitha Rippey, of Columbus, pled guilty to False Voter Registration in violation of Section 3599.11 of the Ohio Revised Code, a Felony in the Fifth degree. Rippey was charged with one count of false election registration and one count of illegal voting, and pleaded guilty to false voter registration. She was sentenced to community control (probation) for twelve months and was ordered to pay a $250 fine.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l2KfJW , Case no. 17 CR 005019
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Kenyron O. Glasgow, of Columbus, pled guilty to illegal voting. Glasgow was charged with two counts of false election registration and two counts of illegal voting, and pleaded guilty to illegal voting, a fourth degree felony. He was sentenced to community control (probation) for twelve months and was ordered to pay a $200 fine and court fees.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l1pnTb, Case no. 17 CR 005020
Details
Awais Jamil, of Roseville, registered and voted in Muskingum County in the 2016 general election despite not being a U.S. citizen. Jamil, an immigrant from Pakistan, initially indicated in documents submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles that he was not a U.S. citizen. The state nevertheless sent him a voter registration packet, at which point he falsely identified himself as a citizen in order to register. He pleaded guilty to illegal voting, a fourth-degree felony, and was sentenced to one year of probation, with an underlying sentence of 14 months in prison. Jamil now faces possible deportation as a result of his felony conviction.
Source: https://herit.ag/3hNY9wW, https://herit.ag/3EC8KVu
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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.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iQEhcl, https://herit.ag/3i4LiHm, https://herit.ag/3l22krt
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.”
