Voter Fraud

Cory Booker is just one of numerous Democrats caught up in voter fraud scandals (see the 2007 Essex County case). Photo by Kelly Bell.

Major Democrat voter fraud has been catalogued below for every year from 2018 to 1990, and for every semi-annual election (even years) dating back to 1976. The following is a list of cases of voter fraud, organized by election cycle Contrary to the common claim made by Democrats, voter fraud is consistently perpetrated each election cycle by the Democratic Party, and has played a role in the careers of key Democrats.

Obama, for example, was elected in 2008 due to widespread voter fraud by ACORN, who he got his start in politics with as a community organizer. Cory Booker's aide, Joaquin Caceres, was convicted of ballot fraud in the 2007 Essex County, NJ scandal. The key U.S. Senator, Al Franken, who gave Democrats their 2009 Supermajority allowing them to pass bills, most notably Obamacare, without any Republican votes, was elected through absentee ballot fraud.

Washington D.C. Mayor, Muriel Bowser, had her campaign staffers helping collect signatures for Councilman Kathryn Allen in 2018 at the same time Allen had over 3,000 of her signatures disqualified for widespread fraud. In 2012, Eric Holder successfully sued the state of Florida to keep it from removing 2,600 illegal immigrants from voter rolls. That same year, Democrat U.S. Senator Wendy Rosen was found guilty of voter fraud as was the son and Chief of Staff for U.S. Representative Jim Moran. Ohio poll worker Melowese Richardson bragged publicly about voting repeatedly in multiple elections to help Barack Obama, and was honored by Al Sharpton after being released from prison for committing voter fraud.

In one of the most high-profile cases, the U.S. Justice Department in 2006 sued Ike Brown, the Noxubee County, MS, Democratic Executive Committee Chairman for discriminating against white voters to get black politicians elected across Mississippi by illegally marking absentee ballots, sending white voters letters warning them they will be challenged at the polls, and importing black voters into the county. The case, United States v. Ike Brown (2007), found that Brown had violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act and the rights of the county's white minority.

Even though the odds are in some cases stacked against identifying voter fraud, particularly in the fifteen states which refuse to provide voter data to the federal government, and election officials have ways to hide their misdeeds, oftentimes for years, there have still been numerous officials caught. The prosecution of officials and individuals who get caught perpetrating voter fraud is itself a time-consuming, drawn-out process. Furthermore, certain news organizations like CNN are far less inclined to report on Democrat voter fraud, which can result in a lack of news coverage even when FBI press releases and local coverage reports on voter fraud. Democrats oppose election transparency and electoral reforms precisely because they benefit immensely from voter fraud at a national level.

Only clear cases of election fraud are listed below. Cases where the person is disputed as a resident (e.g. they were moving between states or lacked a clear address) are generally not included, in an attempt to show only clear cases of rigging elections--not potentially well-meaning citizens who simply voted in the wrong states due to technicalities. Because Democrats typically claim voter fraud doesn't exist, whereas Republicans claim that it does, cases involving Republicans are shown separately, since dishonest Democrats might otherwise attempt to dishonestly portray the fraud as primarily perpetrated by Republicans. For cases involving Republicans, see voter fraud cases not included.

2018 Elections

California Wrongly Registers 23,000

Over 23,000 were wrongfully registered by the state of California. Although California has blamed the error on a computer glitch, and claims that all of the 1,600 people who were registered to vote against their will were U.S. citizens, that statement is clearly false, since the entire situation was exposed by a Canadian who contacted the Los Angeles Times complaining that the state's automatic voter registration system had incorrectly registered him to vote.

“ "California was recently forced to admit that it had mistakenly registered almost 25,000 ineligible voters. The state didn’t even realize it was registering noncitizens until a Canadian who is a permanent resident of the U.S. contacted The Los Angeles Times to say he had been improperly registered under the state’s new automatic voter registration system. In a letter calling for an audit, Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla admitted that such 'persistent errors' will 'undermine public confidence.'"

-John Fund and Hans A. von Spakovsky, National Review

”

Washington, D.C.--D.C. Councilman S. Kathryn Allen

Washington D.C. Councilman S. Kathryn Allen, the handpicked candidate of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and former D.C. Mayor Tony Williams (who himself committed election fraud in 2002), was removed from the November ballot after more than 3,000 of her 6,086 petition signatures were disqualified, placing her below the 3,000 signature minimum, following a challenge by her opponent Elissa Silverman. Even the names of the alleged petition collectors had been forged, resulting in Leonard Howard Jr., Tameka Lewter, and DeShawnda Harris testifying that they had not collected hundreds of signatures falsely listed in their names.

What is more, the mayor of Washington D.C., Muriel Bowser, had her own campaign staffers collecting signatures to get Allen on the ballot. That such major election fraud is occurring right here in the nation's Capitol is evident of just how widespread and problematic voter fraud is.

“ "Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), who is running for reelection without serious opposition, has solicited support for Allen, according to a business executive, and her campaign staffers were among those collecting signatures to land Allen on the ballot. Bowser’s staffers were not accused of forgery. A Bowser spokeswoman said the mayor has not made calls or held campaign events for Allen. Allen has blamed a company she hired to help her qualify for the ballot, Strategies for Change, for turning in fraudulent signatures, several of which purported to be from Silverman’s staffers or progressive activists who back the incumbent."

-Fenit Nirappil, Washington Post

”

Los Angeles, CA--9 Charged with Bribery

Nine people have been charged with a large-scale voter fraud scheme to bribe homeless individuals with cigarettes and cash in exchange for votes.

“ "Nine people face felony charges stemming from the 'large-scale voter fraud scheme,' which took place during the 2016 and 2018 elections, prosecutors allege. The charged individuals solicited hundreds of fraudulent signatures, 'offering homeless people $1 and/or cigarettes for their participation,' the release says... Three defendants — Kirkland Kauzava Washington, Harold Bennett and Louis Thomas Wise — each face eight counts and up to six years and four months in state prison, if convicted, the newspaper reported."

-Joel Shannon, USA Today

”

Collingdale, PA--Harry S. Maxwell

The 79-year-old Maxwell surrendered on November 19th to authorities and is facing voter fraud first-degree misdemeanor charges that include "forgery, tampering with records, conspiracy, and violations of the elections code." Rather than an isolated incident, Maxwell has admitted to using prostitutes to commit widespread absentee ballot fraud.

“ "Authorities say Maxwell told detectives 'That's me, I'm guilty, I had someone sign the name.' He then provided detectives with an audio recorded statement in which he stated that he routinely picks-up 'girls' in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia and brings them back to his residence for the purpose of obtaining absentee ballot signatures from them, the DA said. He also told them that one of the women that he brought back to his apartment, known only to him as Brooke, signed the name of the deceased individual on the absentee ballot application at his request, according to investigators."

-WTXF

”

Roma, TX--Modesta Vela

The 60-year-old Vela was arrested at a non-profit food pantry and faces charges of tampering with a government record related to voter fraud. Her bond is set at $60,000 according to the 229th District Attorney Omar Escobar. According to the Associated Press' Berenice Garcia, "Investigators from the DA’s office previously arrested Vela on Oct. 4 on charges of illegal voting, knowingly possessing a ballot or ballot envelope of another person with the intent to defraud, and election fraud, in addition to a misdemeanor unlawful assistance of a voter charge." She previously assisted 200 voters with their mail-in ballots earlier this year, a matter that is still under investigation.

Broward County, FL

Brenda Snipes, the head of Broward County's election board, resigned in November 2018 in the face of widespread nationwide criticism for her mishandling of ballots spanning more than a decade. While she has alleged that "racism" is to blame for her being ousted, her county was the only one in the state which failed to meet election deadlines (by 2 minutes), and in the recount process, her office misplaced more than 2,000 ballots. Even after the recount finished she refused to say whether there were still ballots to be counted, in violation of Florida election laws. This is after a state judge ruled she broke the state's election laws by unlawfully destroying ballots for the 2016 primary election instead of waiting the required 22 months. Her office did not place the 2016 medical marijuana amendment question on some ballots.

“ "To fix her own mistake, Snipes had 5,600 replacement absentee ballots mailed ahead of the [2004] election. As the Washington Post reported at the time, the ballots were dropped off late Saturday evening. According to a spokesman for the Postal Service, by that time, the mail carriers were gone."

-Philip Wegmann, National Review

”

Per reporting by FOX Business' Nicole Darrah, "A week after the 2012 election, about 1,000 uncounted ballots were suddenly discovered. And in 2004, about 58,000 mail-in ballots were not delivered, requiring workers to hurry to replace them. Just last week, a Broward County judge found that Snipes had violated Florida open records laws by failing to quickly provide voting records to attorneys for Scott's Senate campaign."

“ "The Florida Democratic Party allegedly instructed workers and volunteers to reach out to voters who submitted mail-in ballots with signature issues and requested that they resolve the discrepancies after the Florida deadline, reported The Naples Daily News. The instructions came after Election Day already passed, making the effort a violation of Florida’s election rules."

-Molly Prince, The Daily Caller

”

Anderson, IN--Datwaon Traye Collier

Datwaon Traye Collier, 27, is charged with 30 counts of misdemeanor ballot fraud after he fabricated voter registration forms. He took names from his cellphone and fabricated addresses and Social Security Numbers.

Pike County, PA

Someone apparently voted using another person's name, a third-degree felony. The fraud was discovered when the real voter showed up and it was found their signature did not match the name signed by a previous voter in the poll book for them. They were allowed to vote upon showing photo I.D. and police are currently seeking the fraudulent voter.

Charleston, WV--Jeffrey Hartman

Jeffrey Hartman, 73, voted in both Maryland and West Virginia elections dating back to 2006. Hartman has been sentenced to 30 days in jail, one year probation, and fined $100 and court costs.

Baltimore, MD--Doctor, Michael Nana Baako

In May 2019 a Grand Jury indicted Michael Nana Baako, 50, of Ghana on charges of passport fraud, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, and illegally voting in 10 elections from 2006-18, after his petition for U.S. citizenship was denied in 2001 on grounds that he had entered into a sham marriage for purposes of gaining citizenship. Baako is a physician who practiced in Maryland hospitals and ran his own clinic, Biako Healthcare.

2017 Elections

Edinburg, TX Mayor Richard Molina

The Texas Attorney General has arrested nearly 20 individuals for illegally voting in last year's Edinburg municipal elections through registering at addresses they did not live at. The race resulted in the defeat of long-time mayor Richard Garcia by Richard Molina. "Four people allegedly used the address of an apartment complex owned by Molina, who won by more than 1,200 votes, to illegally cast votes. Two of them were arrested in May and June, while two more were arrested Thursday."

In acknowledging that his campaign workers were arrested, Molina nonetheless denied responsibility.

“ "'It’s true, they are on my campaign reports,' Molina said about some of the people who were arrested. 'However, I do want to add that whatever address that they give us is what we put down ... It’s the person’s responsibility, not the deputy (registrar), to put where they live. The supposed violation occurs when they cast the ballot. That is a sole act. That’s where the offense is committed.'” ”

In April 2019, the mayor, Richard Molina, was arrested. Nearly 20 people have now been arrested in the case.

Canton, MS--8 Charged

Courtney Rainey, Canton's Director of Human and Cultural Needs and a Canton School Board member, is charged with offering money and gift cards in exchange for votes. Also charged are Canton's former police chief and current Canton Alderman Vicky McNeil, the Deputy City Clerk Desmand King, and three others, Donnell Robinson, Jennifer Robinson, and Sherman Matlock. Most of the charges involve the 2017 Canton Municipal Elections. Canton Alderman Andrew Grant has since been charged with voter fraud as well. The long-time city clerk, Valerie Smith, has since been charged with three counts of violating voter registration statutes.

St. Louis Park, MN--MCTC Student

A student at MCTC in St. Louis Park, MN, Zameahia J. Ismail, voted twice for Abdi Warsame in the 6th Ward City Council race that Warsame ultimately won by just 239 of 7,234 votes cast. She voted for Warsame "because he was going to help the Somalian community." Investigators are currently looking into whether this was a broader voter fraud conspiracy since there was an organized voter drive on the MCTC campus and she arrived at the polling place with a second acquaintance who was also told to vote for Warsame.

2016 Elections

Fort Worth, TX--4-Person Fraud Ring

Four women in Fort Worth are facing felony charges related to voter fraud in what Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office has termed an organized voter fraud ring. A grand jury indicted Leticia Sanchez, Leticia Sanchez Tepichin, Maria Solis and Laura Parra for preying on elderly voters by stealing their information and forging their signatures for use on absentee ballots.

“ "Paxton’s office said the women harvested votes, by filling out applications for mail-in ballots, with forged signatures. Then they would either “assist” the voter with filling out the ballot, or fill it out themselves, and use deception to get the voter to sign the envelope the ballot would be sent back in."

-Jason Allen, 21 CBS DFW

”

The scheme was funded by an ex-Tarrant County Democratic Party leader, Stuart Clegg, and the fax machine of former Fort Worth councilman Sal Espino was used to fax the ballots. Upon learning of the state's investigation, Leticia Sanchez sent text messages to the other three conspirators telling them not to cooperate with the investigation.

IN--Patriots Majority USA Submits Hundreds of False Voter Registrations

The Democratic group Patriots Majority USA had its subsidiary, the Indiana Voter Registration Project, charged with voter fraud. A supervisor, Holiday Burke, and 11 temporary workers were charged with submitting hundreds of false voter registrations in order to meet daily quota requirements.

“ "The Indiana Voter Registration Project's effort to register primarily black voters was overseen by Patriot Majority USA, which has ties to the Democratic Party, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and former President Bill Clinton."

-Rick Callahan, Chicago Tribune

”

CA--Computer System Hacked, 20 Voters Unable to Vote

After hackers broke into California's state-run voter registration system, at least twenty voters (and possibly far more) were unable to vote in their party's primary elections. The hackers unlawfully accessed voter information via the California Secretary of State's election website but because the website did not record their IP addresses, the hackers cannot be tracked. TIME Magazine's Michael Hestrin specifically focused on this case in arguing that voter fraud is a serious problem.

Gordon, AL Mayor Elbert Melton

The former mayor plead guilty to absentee ballot fraud after he defeated challenger Priscilla Wilson by a 16-vote margin. Melton unlawfully notarized two ballots and stole $1,700 from city funds. He has been sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Harrisonburg, VA--Andrew Spieles

“ "HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA – A former staffer with Harrisonburg Votes, a political organization affiliated with the Democratic party, who was paid to register area voters during the weeks leading up to the 2016 National Election, was sentenced today in federal court for causing 18 fraudulent Virginia Voter Registration Forms to be submitted to the local registrar’s office, Acting United States Attorney Rick A. Mountcastle announced.

Andrew J. Spieles, 21, of Harrisonburg, was sentenced today to 100 days incarceration. Spieles previously pled guilty to a one-count Information charging him with knowingly transferring false Virginia Voter Registration Forms.

According to evidence presented at a previous hearing by Assistant United States Attorney Jeb Terrien, in July 2016 Spieles’ job was to register as many voters as possible and reported to Democratic Campaign headquarters in Harrisonburg."

”

NC--Election Worker and 19 Foreign Nationals Charged

The U.S. Attorney General, Robert J. Higdon, Jr. has charged nineteen foreign nationals for unlawfully voting in elections prior to and on November 8, 2016. Multiple defendants voted in more than one election.

An election worker, Denslo Allen Paige, 66, of Wake County, North Carolina, was also sentenced for encouraging Guadalupe Espinosa-Pena to vote illegally. Paige told Guadalupe-Pena that “if he wanted his voice to be heard, he needed to vote.” Paige was a paid volunteer and former election official with the NC Board of Elections. The former election official was sentenced "to two (2) months active time in the custody of the United States Bureau of Prisons, one (1) year supervised release, $250 fine, and a $25 special assessment."

“ "WILMINGTON, NC – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina today announced that nineteen foreign nationals were charged with, among other crimes, voting by alien for their actions prior to and on November 8, 2016. A twentieth defendant was charged with aiding and abetting a fellow defendant in falsely claiming United States citizenship in order to register to vote.

A federal grand jury in Wilmington, North Carolina returned an Indictment charging the following foreign nationals with false claim of United States citizenship in order to register to vote, and voting by an alien:

Jose Cruz Solano-Rodriguez, age 41, of Mexico; Guadalupe Espinosa-Pena, age 63, of Mexico; Sarah Emilia Silverio-Polanco, age 35, of the Dominican Republic; Elizabeth Nene Amachaghi, age 44, of Nigeria; Maria Rufina Castillo-Boswell, age 31, of Philippines; Dora Maybe Damatta-Rodriguez, age 64, of Panama; Elvis David Fullerton, age 54, of Grenada; Olive Agatha Martin, age 71, of Guyana; and Kaoru Sauls, age 54, of Japan.

Separately, criminal charges of voting by an alien were filed against the following foreign nationals:

Jose Jaime Ramiro-Torres, age 52, of El Salvador; Juan Francisco Landeros-Mireles, age 64, of Mexico; Alessandro Cannizzaro, age 46, of Italy; Dieudonne Soifils, age 71, of Haiti; Hyo Suk George, age 69, of Korea; Merius Jean, age 54, of Haiti; Rosemarie Angelika Harris, age 60, of Germany; and Daniel Tadeusz Romanowski, age 39, of Poland.

Also, a federal grand jury in Wilmington has returned an Indictment charging an eighteenth defendant, Diana Patricia Franco-Rodriguez, age 26, of Mexico, with fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents, and voting by an alien.

Additionally, a federal grand jury in Wilmington has returned an Indictment charging Denslo Allen Paige, age 66, with aiding and abetting Espinosa-Pena in falsely claiming United States citizenship in order to register to vote."

”

Palm Beach, FL--Dozens of Forged Ballot Signatures

As pointed out by the RNLA, dozens of forged absentee ballots were discovered in Palm Beach, FL, but the police chose to drop the investigation because they couldn't find a suspect.

“ "So to conclude, Democrat election officials believe there is a vote fraud scheme going on in Florida, a police investigation concludes vote fraud occurred (for the third time in 2 years), and no one is being prosecuted. Vote Fraud convictions are not a relevant standard for the existence of vote fraud."

-Republican National Lawyers Association

”

Urbana, IL--Foreign National Charged

Miguel Valencia-Sandoval, 33, was charged with illegally voting in the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 elections after he paid $50,000 in 2005 for the birth certificate of a Texas man, Ramiro Guerrero-Vasquez, and used it to obtain a passport in Champaign, IL.

Buffalo, NY--Foreign National Charged

“ "BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. announced today that Shirley Anne Conners, a/k/a Shirley Anne Faragalli, 62, Cheektowaga, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with making a false claim to United States citizenship in order to vote. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Counihan, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the defendant is a native and citizen of Canada and has been illegally present in the United States since the early 1970s. Conners has voted in over 20 Federal, State, and local elections since 1995, the last being the New York State Democratic Presidential Primary on April 19, 2016.

The defendant made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and was released into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

”

St. Louis, MO--Foreign National Charged

Kevin Williams, also known as Kunlay Sodipo, of Nigeria, voted illegally in the 2012 and 2016 elections.

“ "Kevin Williams, a Nigerian citizen and an illegal immigrant, voted illegally in both the 2012 and 2016 elections in St. Louis, Missouri. He also committed tax refund fraud to the tune of $12 million, employing a scheme using stolen IDs from public school employees, among other nefarious actions. Williams had been deported in 1995 but illegally re-entered the United States in 1999. He pleaded guilty in 2017 and was sentenced to six and a half years (78 months) in prison for voting fraudulently, as well as other crimes including mail fraud, aggravated identity theft, and illegally re-entering the United States. In addition to his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $889,712 to the Internal Revenue Service, and he faces deportation."

-Jason Snead, Heritage Foundation

”

Raleigh, NC--Foreign National Charged

“ RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces that a Criminal Information has been filed charging ALMA ILZET MAR ESCALANTE, age 36, of Mexico, with voting by an alien.

According to the charging document, ESCALANTE registered to vote in North Carolina in 2012 and attested under the penalty of perjury that she was a citizen of the United States. As detailed in an affidavit supporting the Criminal Information, ESCALANTE voted in the General Elections of 2012, 2014, and 2016, in Bladen County, North Carolina. ESCALANTE was granted deferred action status in 2016 and her application to register as a lawful permanent resident in the United States is pending adjudication.

If convicted of voting by an alien, ESCALANTE would face maximum penalties of twelve months imprisonment, a $100,000 fine, and a term of supervised release following any term of imprisonment."

”

Baltimore, MD--Foreign National Charged

“ "Baltimore, Maryland – United States District Judge Ellen L. Hollander sentenced defendant “John Doe,” whose true identity remains unknown, to 42 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for charges of passport fraud, social security fraud, aggravated identity theft, and two counts of voter fraud.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; Special Agent in Charge Richard J. Ingram for the Washington Field Office of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service; and Special Agent in Charge Michael McGill of the Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General, Philadelphia Field Division.

According to evidence presented at the five-day trial, beginning at an unknown time, the defendant has lived under the assumed identity of a United States Citizen born in the United States Virgin Islands.

Beginning no later than the summer of 1997, the defendant used the victim’s personally identifiable information to obtain a series of driver’s licenses and identification cards, including a Maryland state identification card and multiple Maryland driver’s licenses. Building upon these documents, the defendant also obtained a United States passport and a Social Security card, and registered to vote.

On June 21, 2015, the defendant was interviewed by Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) investigators about his passport applications and claims to be Cheyenne Moody Davis. The defendant falsely claimed to have served as a Military Police officer in the 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade from 2005 through 2008, and told agents that he completed his military police training at Fort Knox and Fort Hood. He was unable to produce a military identification card and stated that he lost it, but during the interview showed State Department investigators military-standard dog tags bearing the name “Cheyenne M Davis,” and the real Davis’ Social Security number.

The government later learned that John Doe purchased these dog tags online, along with a number of other military-related items, including patches for the 200th Military Police Command, military police, and uniform patches bearing the name “Davis.”

A review of the contents of the defendant’s social media accounts showed that he made statements to multiple other users that he was in the U.S. Army or Army Reserve, and worked at the Fort Meade military base in Maryland. The U.S. Army 200th Military Police Command at Fort Meade confirmed that no one ever served in the U.S. Army under the name or PII of Cheyenne Moody Davis. The U.S. Army also confirmed that military police are not trained at Fort Knox or Fort Hood.

Finally, defendant John Doe voted in the 2016 Presidential Election using the stolen identity."

”

Beaumont, TX--Foreign National Charged

“ "BEAUMONT, Texas –A 57-year-old Salvadoran national has been indicted on federal immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joseph D. Brown today.

Mario Obdulio Orellana was named in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury on June 6, 2018 charging him with two counts of false representation of U.S. citizenship, false statement in application for a passport, unauthorized use of a Social Security number, and voter fraud. Orellana made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Giblin on June 21, 2018.

According to the information presented in court, Orellana is alleged to have illegally entered the United States from El Salvador in the early 1980s. In 1987, while illegally residing in Shelby County, Texas, Orellana is alleged to have used falsified documents to obtain a birth certificate showing he was born in the United States; a passport as a U.S. citizen; and a social security number and register to vote as a U.S. citizen. Furthermore, Orellana is alleged to have fraudulently voted in the November 2016 election."

”

Harrisonburg, VA--Dead Voters

A voter registration group called Harrisonburg Votes turned in 20 voter registrations for deceased individuals. The FBI is investigating.

Montgomery County, TX--Foreign National

Laura Janeth Garza, 38, was charged with felony voter impersonation and ineligible voting for voting in the 2004, 2012, and 2016 elections. She was given a 10-year jail sentence, a $10,000 fine, and will be deported after serving her sentence. She obtained documents to steal a U.S. citizen's identity and then illegally registered to vote in Harris County using the alias Angie Yadira Zamora.

Rio Grande Valley, TX--Foreign National

Bernice Annette Garcia is accused of unlawfully using a deceased person's ID to vote in the 2016 Democratic primary elections. Charges include illegal voting and providing false information.

2015 Elections

Eatonville, FL Mayor Anthony Grant

The Eatonville, FL Mayor Anthony Grant was found guilty by a jury of felony voter fraud, a felony election violation, and a misdemeanor absentee voting violation. Two of his associates, campaign aides Mia Nowells and James Randolph were also charged. Nowells was found guilty of coercing a voter to select Grant, but Randolph was found not guilty.

“ "According to certified election results, Grant received 65 votes at the polls to Mount's 80, but Grant pulled ahead with 196 absentee votes to Mount's 69... The suit claims that 'several witnesses have come forward stating Mr. Grant offered monetary rewards, or bribes, in exchange for their vote for Mr. Grant in the election via their absentee ballots.' 'In addition, several witnesses have come forward stating they will testify Mr. Grant would reduce the rent of his tenants if they voted for Mr. Grant in their absentee ballot in the election.'"

-Steve Lemongello, Orlando Sentinel

”

Troy, NY Mayoral Candidate Ernest Everett

Ernest Everett, a Democrat candidate for Troy, NY Mayor, was initially charged with 2nd-degree forgery and 1st-degree offering a false instrument for filing, both felonies, after he fabricated false nominating petition signatures for the 2015 Democratic primary election for Mayor. The felony counts were eventually dropped and replaced with 7 misdemeanor charges.

Research by the Daily Caller's Rusty Weiss uncovered a broader conspiracy involving Everett and other key figures in the race.

“ "Perhaps most damning in regards to the relationship between Everett, Wade, and Madden, are initial petitions that include an entry to provide a 'committee to fill vacancies.' Everett’s petition includes Wade as a member of the committee, which would form to select a replacement candidate should the original designee fall ill or need to drop out. Further, all three members chosen by Everett for the committee exactly match those chosen by the eventual primary winner in Madden. Wade claimed that 'I had no knowledge of it (the selections for committee),' but a July article in the Troy Record shows otherwise, as Everett confessed to seeking advice from party leaders as to who he should name to the committee. 'I reached out to them and they said no problem at all,' Everett claimed. 'In case something were to happen, I would want to make sure the Democratic Party would be able to reap any benefits.' 'That’s a clear connection there, and control at some level of the candidate,' Wiltshire claimed. Control of a candidate now charged with forging petitions which allowed him to get on the ballot. And an opportunity to create and effect a three person race in a primary decided by a mere 45 votes."

-Rusty Weiss, The Daily Caller

”

Hoboken, NJ City Councilman Frank Raia and 3 Others

Multiple residents of Hoboken, NJ have been charged with encouraging voter fraud by bribing voters at the direction of Hoboken City Council candidate Frank Raia, a Democrat. On May 7th, 2019 Matthew Calicchio, 28, plead guilty to using mails to bribe voters through a voter fraud scheme in the 2013-15 municipal Newark elections. Others accused include Lizaida Camis (who plead guilty in November), Willie Rojas, and Dio Braxton (who plead guilty in May), as well as at least one other person.

According to NJ.com, "The charges facing Raia jolted Hoboken, where it’s long been an open secret that local political machines paid for votes using mail-in ballots." In April 2019, a legal attempt by Frank Raia to face a separate trial from Dio Braxton was denied by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini.

“ "NEWARK, N.J. – A Hoboken, New Jersey, woman today admitted her role in a conspiracy to promote a voter bribery scheme, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Lizaida Camis, 55, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to Count 2 of an indictment charging her with conspiracy to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme during the 2013 municipal election in Hoboken.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Camis, Dio Braxton, and others, at former Hoboken City Council candidate Frank Raia’s direction, agreed to pay certain Hoboken voters $50 each if those voters applied for and cast mail-in ballots for the November 2013 Hoboken municipal election. Camis and others provided these voters with vote-by-mail applications and then delivered the completed applications to the Hudson County Clerk’s office. After the mail-in ballots were delivered to the voters, Camis and others went to the voters’ residences and, in some cases, instructed the voters to vote for a rent control referendum that Raia supported. Camis, Braxton and others promised the voters that they would be paid $50 for casting their mail-in ballots and told them that they could pick up their checks after the election at Raia’s office in Hoboken. Bank records show that voters who interacted with Camis and Braxton received $50 checks from an entity associated with Raia.

Raia and Braxton were indicted on Oct. 31, 2018, for their roles in the scheme.

The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 21, 2019."

”

Alorton, IL Trustee Davione Kidd & 6 Others

Davione M. Kidd, 24, a Trustee for Alorton, IL was charged with one count of tampering with an absentee ballot. Brian McDouglar, 38, of Cahokia, IL was also charged with three counts of tampering with an absentee ballot. Five others have been found guilty of absentee ballot fraud in St. Clair County as well since 2012: McDouglar was ultimately sentenced to two years in state prison for unlawfully taking the absentee ballot of a voter he had no relation to and depositing it in the mail. Steveland Kidd was sentenced to 12 days in the county jail and is prohibited from future campaign/electioneering activities.

“ "Steveland Kidd, 27, Devione Kidd’s brother, of Alorton, faces two charges of violation of absentee ballot. His case is pending. Monica LaPlant, 28, of Cahokia, was charged in 2013 with attempted to mark an absentee ballot. She pleaded guilty and received probation. Pamela Bryant, 45, of Cahokia, was charged in three counts of marking an absentee ballot in 2013. She pleaded guilty and received probation. Augustus Stacker Jr., 61, of Cahokia, pleaded guilty to violation of an absentee ballot. He is serving probation. Sean Sayles, 34, of Cahokia, faces two counts of violation of an absentee ballot. His case is pending."

-Beth Hundsdorfer & George Pawlaczyk, Belleville News-Democrat

”

McColl, SC Mayor Bobby Odom, 2 Charged

Two brothers, William White and Bobby Ray White, were charged with offering crack cocaine, beer, and cash to voters in exchange for their votes on behalf of McColl Mayor Bobby Odom, who won the election by 55 votes, 348 to 293. Arrest warrants from the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) show that the two were charged with conspiracy and procuring or offering to procure votes by bribery.

2014 Elections

Opelousas, LA Mayor--Donald Cravins Sr.

State Sen. Elbort Guillory released a video via the Black Conservatives Fund showing the Democrat Mayor, Donald Cravins Sr., urging his supporters to commit voter fraud and vote twice.

“ "The video, released Monday and taken at a campaign rally Nov. 3 at the Charcoal Lounge in Opelousas the night before the Nov. 4 primary, features the mayor telling his supporters to vote twice. 'Now, if you already voted, go vote again tomorrow,' Cravins Sr. is seen telling a crowd. 'One more time's not going to hurt.' Cravins goes on to say 'Tomorrow we're gonna elect Earl Taylor (as district attorney) so he won't prosecute you if you vote twice.'"

-William Johnson, USA Today

”

Sullivan County, IN--County Councilman Max Judson

Judson was sentenced in November 2017 for four counts of election fraud and witness tampering for committing absentee ballot fraud in the 2014 Sullivan County primary election, following his arrest by the FBI on September 28, 2015. Judson had defeated his opponent Sonner Faught by a razor-thin margin of 18 votes, with the sheriff's race decided by 24 votes. He was sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in federal prison and fined $500.

Bloomingburg, NY--Shalom Lamm, 3 Others

Real estate developers Shalom Lamm and two associates, Kenneth Nakdimen and Volvy Smilowitz were found guilty of attempting to orchestrate a takeover of the village of Bloomingburg, NY by falsely registering voters who lived outside the village limits by signing and backdating leases for them. The Mamakating, NY town supervisor, Harold Baird (an Independent), was also found guilty. Lamm paid the head of a yeshiva $30,000 a month to encourage students to move to the village if they promised to register and vote. Lamm was ultimately sentenced to 10 months in prison, a year of supervised release, 400 hours of community service, and a $20,000 fine.

“ "Baird’s lack of resignation or forcible ousting infuriated the public just as much as the continued presence of Mayor Russell Wood on the board of commissioners. Wood owned the property Baird claimed as his residence for the 2014 election, and signed Baird’s nominating petition. The crowd taunted Wood, who barely turned to face them, and pressured the board to make a statement by forcing Baird to end his current term. Under pressure, the board voted to request Baird’s resignation for the current term. Former Mamakating Town Board member Teddy Brebbia told the commissioners that Baird’s admitted voter fraud was an affront to veterans and American democracy."

-Amanda Loviza, Times Herald-Record

”

Boone County, MO--4 Charged

Four persons were arrested and charged with felony voter fraud for falsifying petition signatures as part of an unsuccessful bid by Democrat groups to get an early-voting proposal on the Missouri ballot. Keven Hayes, a homeless man, was arrested on three counts of forgery for submitting 363 false signatures which included names of deceased persons and three people who when contacted said they had not signed the petition. Hayes collected the signatures for Buzzard Bay Strategies, which paid bonuses to those collecting the most signatures. Forgery warrants were also issued for Tracy Renee Jones, Danny Lawrence Williams and Rogell Coker Jr.

Perth Amboy, NJ--City Council Chairwoman Leslie Dominguez-Rodriguez

Perth Amboy, NJ had its November 2014 election result for a city council seat invalidated by a Superior Court judge who found that Democrat chairwoman Leslie Dominguez-Rodriguez had helped her husband Jose Rodriguez win a Board of Education election by committing massive absentee ballot fraud by taking advantage of elderly nursing home residents. Even though Dominguez-Rodriguez resigned in the face of widespread outrage, she remained undeterred, and promptly tried the next day to take out 1,000 more vote-by-mail ballot applications.

“ "Among the residents whose mail-in ballots were thrown out Wednesday by Judge Heidi Currier was a blind man, a resident who couldn't recall either her address or having voted, and others who testified that Leslie Dominguez-Rodriguez coerced them into voting for her husband, a candidate for Board of Education. Dominguez-Rodriguez also was supporting council candidate Fernando Gonzalez, who beat Sergio Diaz by just 10 votes. Gonzalez has been serving on the council since January as the election lawsuit played out in court. His margin of victory was less than the 13 votes that the judge on Wednesday invalidated following a trial that included the testimony of the residents whose ballots were contested."

-Sergio Bichao, USA Today

”

GA 34,000 False Voter Registrations

Tens of thousands of Georgia voter registration forms have false Social Security Numbers listed, including over 11,000 that resulted from a voter registration drive by Democrat gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams. Not a single one has attempted to vote or correct the information, which as noted by Erick Erickson of The Telegraph raises the question of whether they are actually real people.

“ "Of those 46,000, the secretary of state’s outside audit shows 75 percent submitted a voter registration form that had an erroneous Social Security number on it. There’s a punchline to this is that 11,024 of those came from a voter registration drive held in 2014 by the New Georgia Project, a nonprofit created by the current Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams. In other words, 23 percent of the voters on the pending voter list originated from a Abrams voter drive in 2014 and those voters or the signature collectors themselves put down wrong Social Security information. In fact, a source I spoke with in the secretary of state’s office says they believe the individuals collecting the applications filled them out for the voters and they themselves, not the actual voter, wrote down the wrong information. More importantly, none of those voters has ever attempted to vote or correct the information, which raises the question of whether they are real people."

-Erick Erickson, The Telegraph

”

Nassau County, NY--Voter Impersonation

A District Court Judge in Nassau County, Helen Voutsinas, discovered on election day that someone had impersonated her at the polls. She was unable to vote until a state Supreme Court Justice issued an order allowing her to vote.

2013 Elections

Taylor, PA Councilman--Eugene Gallagher

The Taylor Borough Councilman was jailed for voter fraud after he forged voter's absentee ballots, some of whom didn't even live in Taylor. As reported by ABC WNEP 16's Stacy Lange, "According to court papers, Gallagher influenced at least six people to register to vote in Taylor. Some of the new voters didn't even live in the borough. Then, Gallagher filled out their absentee ballots himself and turned them in at the Lackawanna County Board of Elections office in Scranton."

Philadelphia, PA Poll Worker--Dianah Gregory

In February 2014 a Philadelphia election worker was arrested for tampering with voting machines during the November 2013 election. Dianah Gregory, a Democrat, forced her way into an election booth to write her name on another voter’s ballot for the position of election judge, and wrote her name on the side of the booth. She has since been sentenced to 15 months’ probation, fined $5,000, and is required to perform 15 hours of community service.

Dothan, AL--4 City Commission Campaign Officials

The 49-year-old Lesa Coleman was convicted on seven counts of felony absentee ballot fraud related to the 2013 2nd District Dothan City Commission election which Amos Newsome won. She is one of four campaign workers for Newsome facing criminal charges for election fraud. The others are Olivia Lee Reynolds, 66, Janice Hart, 64, and Daniel Reynolds, 38. Olivia Lee Reynolds, Newsome's girlfriend, was found guilty on 24 counts of absentee ballot fraud. Janice Hart plead guilty to misdemeanor absentee ballot fraud and was sentenced to 12 months in the Houston County Jail, only to have the sentence reduced to two years probation.

Sunland Park, NM--Campaign Worker Silvia Gomez

Gomez pleaded guilty to registering voters at false addresses so they could unlawfully vote in the Sunland Park municipal election, and was sentenced to 3 years probation.

Hattiesburg, MS--7 Charged

Seven people were charged with misdemeanor voting fraud for voting in the 2013 Hattiesburg mayoral elections despite living outside the city limits. At least three pleaded guilty as of December 1st, 2014.

Colorado Dead Voters

“ "Election sleuthing by Brian Maass of KCNC-TV in Denver exposed multiple instances in recent years where dead Coloradans were still voting. A dead World War II veteran named John Grosso voted in a 2006 primary election, and a woman named Sara Sosa who died in 2009 cast ballots in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Mrs. Sosa’s husband Miguel died in 2008, but a vote was cast in his name one year later."

-Douglas Ernst, Washington Times

”

2012 Elections

FL--Eric Holder Sues to Let 2,600 Illegals Vote

After the state of Florida identified 85 voters that were registered illegally, it determined that an additional 2,600 voters appeared to be registered illegally, and sent letters requiring them to prove their citizenship before the election. However, Attorney General Eric Holder successfully sued to stop their removal by claiming their names could not be removed less than 90 days before an election. Florida Governor Rick Scott had earlier sued the Department of Homeland Security to gain access to the federal SAVE database in order to purge voting rolls of non-citizens, but was blocked by Holder's Department of Justice.

Rep. Wendy Rosen

Wendy Rosen, a Democrat running for Maryland's 1st Congressional District, resigned in September of 2012, and pled guilty in 2013 to voting illegally in two elections. Rosen was sentenced to five years’ probation and a $5,000 fine.

“ “Today, we have a new example of just how far prominent people will go to commit voter fraud. Wendy Rosen, who until last September was the Democratic nominee in Maryland’s Eastern Shore congressional district, was just indicted for voting in both Florida and Maryland since at least 2006. Each of the two counts she was indicted on carry a possible sentence of up to five years in jail and a fine of $2,500. Nor is Rosen the only candidate for Congress who has become, shall we say, personally involved in stuffing the ballot box. A few years ago, former Democratic congressman Austin Murphy of Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to illegally entering nursing homes and overly ‘assisting’ incapacitated voters with filling out ballots.”

-John Fund, National Review

”

VA Rep. Jim Moran's Son/Chief of Staff

The son and Director of Field Operations for Democrat Representative Jim Moran resigned from his campaign in October of 2012 after being caught on video explaining how to use voter fraud to help Obama win the election. The Congressman’s son Patrick Moran can be seen on recorded video saying “Bank statement would obviously be tough, but they can fake a utility bill easily enough, you know?” Moran's son endorsed a scheme to fraudulently vote on behalf of 100 people.

FL State Rep. Joe Garcia's Chief of Staff

The Chief of Staff for Florida State Representative Joe Garcia, Jeffrey Garcia (no relation) resigned on May 31st, 2013 for manipulating the 2012 Florida elections with hundreds of fake absentee ballots.

AR State Rep. Hudson Hallum

In September 2012 Democrat State Representative Hudson Hallum pleaded guilty to bribing voters with chicken dinners and cheap vodka for their absentee ballots in a 2011 election. Also pleading guilty were two other Democrats, his father Kent Hallum and West Memphis City Councilman Phillip Wayne Carter; as well as a West Memphis Police Officer named Sam Malone. Hallum was ultimately sentenced to three years’ probation including nine months of home confinement, fined $20,000, and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

35,570 NC Voters Double Voted

North Carolina's Board of Elections found, by searching a database comparing votes from different states, that 35,570 North Carolina voters shared the same first names, last names, and dates of birth as those who'd voted in different states. In 765 cases, North Carolina voters shared the same last 4 Social Security Number digits as those in other states. In at least 40 to 50 cases, North Carolina voters had submitted absentee ballots at a time when they were not only deceased, but it was so long after their death that it was impossible for them to have submitted the ballots. Since Obama won North Carolina by only 14,177 votes out of 2.3 million votes cast, it is very possible that Indiana's 2012 result was decided through voter fraud.

Bridgeport, CT--State Rep. Christine Ayala

Ayala fabricated residential addresses to vote in 8 different elections between 2009 and 2012.

Martin, KY Mayor--Ruth T. Robinson

“ "PIKEVILLE, KY—The former Mayor of Martin, Ky., has been sentenced to 90 months in federal prison for various crimes including civil rights offenses and identity theft.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Amul Thapar sentenced the former mayor, Ruth Thomasine Robinson, 70, for conspiracy to violate civil rights, conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration, federal program fraud, aggravated identity theft and vote buying. Judge Thapar also sentenced Robinson’s husband, James “Red” Robinson, 64, to 40 months in prison for vote buying. Under federal law, the Robinsons must serve at least 85 percent of their respective prison sentences.

Thomasine Robinson was convicted in May of the vote buying and civil rights violations. According to evidence at the trial, Thomasine Robinson and her co-conspirators intimidated poor and disabled citizens in order to gain their votes during Robinson’s 2012 campaign for re-election. For instance, members of the conspiracy directed residents of public housing to vote by absentee ballot under the supervision of Thomasine Robinson or another member of the conspiracy. The conspirators also targeted residents of private housing owned and leased by Thomasine Robinson.

Trial testimony established that the conspirators completed absentee ballots, marking their choice of candidates, and instructing the voters to sign the pre-marked ballots. Voters who complied by voting for Thomasine Robinson received promises of better living arrangements and other considerations. Voters who did not comply faced eviction or the loss of priority for public housing. In addition, the evidence established that the defendants offered to pay several voters to vote for Thomasine Robinson.

Thomasine Robinson was convicted in February of the identity theft and fraud offenses. Evidence at the trial established that from 2006 until January 2013, Ginger Marie Halbert, a co-conspirator, was purportedly working on a volunteer basis with Thomasine Robinson; in reality, Halbert was secretly being paid with federal funds. The funds used to pay Halbert were intended for the Martin Community Center and the Martin Housing Authority. Some of the misdirected money was supposed to fund an after school program for city children. To conceal the scheme, the defendants allegedly arranged for the checks to be made payable to Halbert’s son."

”

Seattle, WA--James Webb Baker

James Webb Baker of Seattle pleaded guilty to one count of voter intimidation and one count of identification fraud for sending fake letters to 200 Republican Party donors in Florida warning them they would be arrested if voting.

Cincinnati, OH Poll Worker--Melowese Richardson

In March 2013 a Democrat poll worker, Melowese Richardson, was indicted for voting illegally at least six times in the 2012 elections, along with illegal votes in both 2008 and 2011. Richardson defended her illegal actions by saying, “I'll fight it for Mr. Obama and Mr. Obama's right to sit as president of the United States.” Also indicted for illegal voting were Marguerite Kloos and Russell Glassop. A year later Al Sharpton honored Melowese Richardson at a rally after she was released early from a 5-year prison sentence, going so far as to hug her for committing voter fraud to help Obama win.

Donna, TX--5 Campaign Workers

“ "WASHINGTON—A campaign manager pleaded guilty today in the Southern District of Texas for conspiring with others to pay voters to vote in a Donna, Texas, school board election, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas. Five campaign workers have already pleaded guilty to vote-buying charges in connection with this election.

Francisco “Frankie” Garcia, 47, of Donna, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to buy votes and one count of vote-buying in connection with the November 2012 general election. Garcia’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2015, before Chief Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

At his plea hearing, Garcia admitted that a general election was held on Nov. 6, 2012, in Donna, Texas, which included candidates for the presidential election, as well as candidates for various state, county and local offices, including members of the Donna School Board. Garcia worked as a campaign manager for four school board candidates, and he and others agreed to pay voters with cash and cocaine to vote for those candidates."

”

Cameron County, TX--6 Democrats Arrested

Six women were arrested for various forms of voter fraud committed in the July 2012 Democratic primary runoff election and booked into the Cameron County jail.

“ "Tomasa Ramirez Chavez, 84; Bernice Garcia, 29; Margarita Rangel Ozuna, 63; Sara Virginia Perales, 51; and Vicenta Guajardo Verino, 53, were all accused of multiple charges, while Facunda Banda Garcia, 54, was charged only with the unlawful assisting of a voter. Inmate data at Carrizalez Rucker Detention Center indicated that among the charges are unlawfully assisting a voter, improperly returning a marked ballot and ballot carrier violations. This is Ozuna’s second arrest on charges related to voter fraud. She pleaded no contest in 2013 to an election violation charge associated with a 2010 election."

-Ty Johnson, Brownsville Herald

”

Hidalgo County, TX--2 Campaign Workers

“ "WASHINGTON—Two campaign workers pleaded guilty this week in the Southern District of Texas for paying voters to vote in two 2012 elections in Hidalgo County, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

Veronica Saldivar, 42, of Donna, Texas, pleaded guilty today to one count of vote-buying before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane of the Southern District of Texas and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 8, 2014. Belinda Solis, 39, also of Donna, pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2014, to one count of vote-buying before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez of the Southern District of Texas and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 11, 2014."

”

Phenix City, AL--2 Charged with Voter Fraud

Two women were charged with forgery and absentee ballot fraud in the 2012 Phenix City municipal elections. The two women charged were Shelia Pritchett, 50, and Stephanie Elias, 31.

Brownsville, TX--Sonia Leticia Solis

“ "BROWNSVILLE, TX—Sonia Leticia Solis, 55, has entered a plea of guilty to voting more than once in connection with the 2012 primary runoff election held in Cameron County on July 31, 2012, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

The election included candidates running for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Solis resided in Brownsville during the election and obtained multiple mail-in ballots by forging applications on behalf of individuals she represented to be disabled.

U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle, who accepted the guilty plea, has set sentencing for February 5, 2014, at which time Solis faces a possible federal prison sentence of up to five years and a maximum $10,000 fine.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Hagen."

”

Carteret County, NC--Jim Turner

North Carolina Democrat Jim Turner bragged on Facebook that he had voted four times already for Obama in four different precincts and was going to vote once more. A few days after this became public Turner claimed he had just been joking. Turner is a local journalist whose daughter was a news anchor for WCTI News. Ironically, Jim Turner's wife Jean Turner heads the Carteret County Democratic Party and in December 2013 sent out a newsletter on behalf of the party arguing against voter fraud laws.

2011 Elections

Jeffersonville, IN Campaign Worker

Michael L. Marshall, a Democratic campaign worker on Jeffersonville Mayor Tom Galligan’s 2011 campaign was sentenced to 18 months in prison for voter fraud with 9 months suspended and fined $450 on charges of voter fraud, perjury, and forgery. With credit for good time, it is likely he will only serve four and a half months according to Jennings County Clerk Mary Kilgore. Marshall falsified absentee ballot applications for his son, Vernon Marshall; his brother, Robert Marshall; and his former roommate, Kevin Phelps. Once he serves his sentence, his felony convictions will be reduced to misdemeanors, and Marshall has been allowed to retain his liquor license.

2010 Elections

MA State Rep. Stephen Smith

A Democrat State Representative in Massachusetts, Stephen Smith, pled guilty to charges of voter fraud in December of 2012. Smith used fraudulent absentee ballots in both 2009 and 2010. According to the FBI's report Smith's plea agreement required that he resign from office on January 1st, 2013, and he will not be eligible to run for office for five years afterward.

IN State Rep. Mike Marshall, 3 Others

Indiana State Rep. Mike Marshall was sentenced in 2013 to 18 months in prison for absentee ballot fraud related to the 2010 elections. Marshall pled guilty to falsifying absentee ballot applications for his brother Robert Marshall, his son Vernon Marshall, and his former roommate Kevin Phelp. After his conviction, he was embraced by the Democratic Party, who hired him back and even featured him in a documentary, 'Electoral Dysfunction,' that accuses Republicans of voter suppression. As Jennings County Democratic-party chairman Karen Snyder stated about Marshall, "I am just really disappointed. There are no victims in this case. I know Mike as well as most people and I trust him. Without question, we will welcome Mike back to work for the party."

“ "A Jennings County grand jury originally issued 66 indictments against Marshall, his son Christopher Marshall and a third Jennings resident, John Cook, after an investigation by the Indiana State Police. Marshall had faced 48 felony counts, including forgery and perjury, both class C felonies, and 23 counts of voter fraud. Marshall was also in charge of soliciting absentee ballots in the re-election campaign for Galligan in 2011. He resigned from Galligan’s campaign when he was initially indicted in Jennings County on the voter fraud, perjury and forgery charges."

-Braden Lammers, News and Tribune

”

Lincoln County, WV Commissioner, Sheriff, Clerk

“ "CHARLESTON, WV—Two former Lincoln County officials were sentenced to federal prison on felony charges in connection with a 2010 primary election fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. Former Lincoln County Sheriff Jerry Bowman, 58, was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a $5,000 fine. Bowman previously pleaded guilty in March to conspiracy against rights in connection with the election fraud plot. Bowman’s co-conspirator and former Lincoln County Clerk Donald C. Whitten, 62, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and three years of supervised release and a $5,000 fine. Whitten’s sentence is the longest in recent memory in an election fraud case in the Southern District of West Virginia. Whitten also pleaded guilty in March to making a false statement in connection with the fraud scheme.

“A citizen’s right to vote is the foundation of our democracy,” said U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. “A stolen election shakes the public’s faith in government itself. It’s disgraceful for anyone to rig an election and even worse when the criminal is a public official.”

“I won’t tolerate election fraud in southern West Virginia,” Goodwin continued. “My office will relentlessly pursue anyone who tries to manipulate the vote.”

“I appreciate Judge Johnston’s strong stance on the importance of clean elections in this state and everywhere, and I’m pleased with today’s sentences,” Goodwin said.

Bowman admitted that during the conspiracy, he falsified more than 100 absentee ballot applications for voters who did not have any legal basis to vote absentee. After the false applications were processed, Bowman then returned to many of those voters’ homes and was in the room with them while they voted, telling them which candidates he backed. Bowman further admitted that in at least six cases, he himself marked voters’ absentee ballots.

Bowman also admitted that on several occasions, he witnessed a known associate complete absentee ballot applications for voters who had no apparent reason to vote absentee legally. Bowman admitted that during the scheme, he hand-delivered numerous false absentee ballot applications to the Lincoln County Clerk, which he had completed. In addition, Bowman also admitted that he witnessed a known associate hand-deliver numerous absentee ballot applications to the Lincoln County Clerk, which the known individual had illegally completed.

Whitten admitted that on December 7, 2011, he lied to an investigator about his role in the election fraud conspiracy. Whitten further admitted that he told an investigator that he had never provided absentee ballots to a known associate so that the associate could subsequently hand-deliver those ballots to voters. Whitten also admitted that at the time he made the statement, he knew that it was false.

Bowman and Whitten have resigned their formerly held county offices as required by their plea agreements.

Earlier this month, former Lincoln County Commissioner Thomas Ramey, Jr., 32, of Lincoln County, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to an FBI agent in connection to his role in the Lincoln County absentee voting fraud scheme.

Ramey faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when he is sentenced on November 15, 2012, by United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston. Like Bowman and Whitten, Ramey has resigned his formerly held county office as required by his plea agreement.

The investigation was conducted by investigator Jim Wise of the West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Counsel to the United States Attorney Steven Ruby and Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Ryan handled the prosecution."

”

Paterson, NJ--Councilman Rigo Rodriguez and Wife

Former Paterson Councilman Rigo Rodriguez and his wife, Lissette, were indicted for election fraud. As related by NJ Advance Media's Jeff Goldman, "The pair also allegedly had ballots submitted as votes for people who never received the ballots, completed them or authorized that they be cast. Once the State Police caught on to the scheme, authorities said, Rodriguez and his wife instructed campaign workers to lie."

Reno, NV--Hortencia Segura-Munoz

An illegal immigrant, Segura-Munoz voted in both the 2008 and 2012 Nevada elections by using a false name. According to the Associated Press, "Prosecutors say she registered as a Republican, but it's not known which candidates she voted for or if her voting affected any close elections."

Pontiac, MI--Dead Voter

The mummified body of Pia Farrenkopf was discovered in a garage. Despite having died in 2008, she somehow voted in the 2010 elections.

2009 Elections

MN Sen. Al Franken

Al Franken, the Senator who gave Democrats their supermajority in 2009, won through a recount where 12,000 absentee ballots were thrown out. According to the New York Times, “Mr. Franken won by 312 votes, while state officials rejected 12,000 absentee ballots.” Despite trailing at the end of the election, thousands of mysterious absentee ballots emerged after the elections had closed to given Franken the victory and Democrats complete control of Congress, allowing them to pass any legislation they wanted without Republican votes.

“ “But the team's real goldmine were absentee ballots, thousands of which the Franken team claimed had been mistakenly rejected. While Mr. Coleman's lawyers demanded a uniform standard for how counties should re-evaluate these rejected ballots, the Franken team ginned up an additional 1,350 absentees from Franken-leaning counties. By the time this treasure hunt ended, Mr. Franken was 312 votes up, and Mr. Coleman was left to file legal briefs.”

-The Wall Street Journal

”

Troy, NY--Eight Democrat Officials

Eight different Democrat officials stand accused of voter fraud in the 2009 Working Families Primary, and as of January 2012, four of them had pleaded guilty to falsifying absentee ballots. Hundreds of faked ballots, as well as forgery instruments, were uncovered by the investigation.

2008 Elections

ACORN

The 2008 ACORN national scandal had numerous cases of Democrat voter fraud across the United States leading to 18 convictions. In Philadelphia alone 1,500 fraudulent voter registrations were submitted.

“ “Mr. Obama distanced himself from the group's scandals last year, saying "’We don't need Acorn's help."’ Nevertheless, he got his start as a community organizer at Acorn's side. In 1992, he headed a registration effort for Project Vote, an Acorn partner at the time. In 1995, he represented Acorn in a key case upholding the new Motor Voter Act -- the very law whose mandated postcard registration system Acorn workers use to flood election offices with bogus registrations.”

-John Fund, National Review

”

St. Joseph County, IN--4 DNC Officials

Four St. Joseph County Democrat officials were convicted of forging signatures to help put Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the 2008 ballot. The ringleader, St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman Butch Morgan, was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to one year in prison and one year in community corrections. The others sentenced were Pam Brunette, Bev Shelton, and Dustin Blythe.

“ “Prosecutors in South Bend, Ind., filed charges Monday against four St. Joseph County Democratic officials and deputies as part of a multiple felony case involving the alleged forging of Democratic presidential primary petitions in the 2008 election, which put then-candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton on the Indiana ballot.”

-Eric Shawn, FOX News

”

“ "St. Joseph County Prosecutor Michael Dvorak, in South Bend, is currently investigating allegations that numerous signatures on 2008 Democratic Presidential primary petitions for then candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, were faked. There are claims that so many signatures were fraudulent, that the Obama campaign may not have actually obtained enough legitimate signatures to have legally qualified for the ballot. And just like the New York voters in Troy who told Fox News that they never signed absentee ballots, voters in South Bend and Mishawaka told us that their signatures were forged too."

-Eric Shawn, FOX News

”

Los Angeles, CA State Senator Roderick Wright

Wright was found guilty as part of an eight-county felony indictment of committing voter fraud and perjury when falsely claiming on his voter registration form that he lived in the district so he could run for office. He was sentenced to 90 days confinement (reduced to 1 hour in jail and 2.5 years probation) and given a lifetime ban on holding public office. He was pardoned in November 2018 by California Governor Jerry Brown.

2007 Elections

Essex County, NJ Freeholder Samuel Gonzalez, Cory Booker Aide Joaquin Caceres, 3 Others

Samuel Gonzalez, Essex County Freeholder, was the highest-ranking official to resign in a voting fraud scandal related to his wife, State Senator Teresa Ruiz. Also pleading guilty to absentee ballot fraud and ballot tampering were Newark Mayor Cory Booker's aide, Joaquin Caceres, and an aide to Democratic power broker Steven Adubato, Jonathon Kowalski. Two employees of the Essex County Department of Economic Development, John Fernandez, 58, and Edwin Cruz, 48, were also charged.

“ "A state grand jury indicted Freeholder Samuel Gonzalez, as well as aides to Democratic power broker Steven Adubato and Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and two other county employees, all on charges of ballot tampering in connection with Ruiz’s Senate race in Essex County’s 29th Legislative District."
-Ted Sherman, NJ.com. ”

Jackson, GA Council Member Tommy Raney, 4 Others

Raney, his campaign worker Debra Brown, and 3 others plead guilty to ballot fraud, Timothy Boyd, Evelyn Price, and Progress-Argus Publisher Marshall Avett. The race had been decided by 27 votes, but 49 of the 57 absentee mail-in ballots were determined to have been fraudulent.

“ "The Secretary of State's inspector general's investigation culminated with findings of voter fraud and Raney was fined $158,000, Brown $20,000. The inspector general determined Raney filled out two voter registration applications for electors; filled out and took possession of 48 absentee ballot applications for electors after they were signed; and filled in elector information on at least two absentee ballot envelopes for electors. Brown was found to have unlawfully "assisted numerous absentee electors" with voter registration applications and absentee ballots."

-Stewart Voegtlin, Clayton News-Daily

”

Tunica, MI--Lessadolla Sowers

Roff, a Democrat and leader in the county's NAACP chapter, was found guilty of casting fraudulent absentee ballots in the 2007 primary election.

“ "Back in April, in a story that did not receive the attention it deserved, a Tunica County, Miss., jury found Lessadolla Sowers, who have been identified as a member of the executive committee of the county’s NAACP chapter, guilty of 10 counts of fraudulently casting absentee ballots in the name of others. Sowers, The Daily Caller reported Friday, received a five-year prison term for each of the ten counts—for a total of 50 years– but will be allowed to serve those terms concurrently, meaning at the same time."

-Peter Roff, U.S. News

”

St. Louis, MO--Deidra Humphrey

“ "St. Louis, MO: Deidra Humphrey pleaded guilty to a fraud charge in connection with submitting false information on voter fraud registration cards, United States Attorney Catherine L. Hanaway announced today.

According to court documents, Humphrey worked as a voter registration recruiter in 2008, including with Missouri Progressive Vote Coalition ("MPVC"). Humphrey knew that MPVC required her to submit valid voter registration cards, including cards that had been duly signed by the purported applicant. Despite this requirement, in order to prop up her numbers, Humphrey submitted false and forged voter registration cards to MPVC, which were then submitted to the Boards of Election in St. Louis County and the City of St. Louis. Humphrey knew that her actions were illegal and would result in her getting paid for work that she did not lawfully complete.

Humphrey, 44, of East St. Louis, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud before United States District Judge E. Richard Webber. Humphrey now faces a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $250,000, when she is sentenced on June 11, 2009.

Hanaway commended the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department for referring this case to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney John Bodenhausen is handling the case for the U.S. Attorney’s Office."

”

2006 Elections

Frankfort, KY Election Commissioner Charles Wayne Jones, 7 Others

Clay County election commissioner Charles Wayne Jones and others were sentenced for voter fraud. Others convicted included Clay County Circuit Court Judge Russell Cletus Maricle, 65, school superintendent Douglas C. Adams, 57, Clay County Clerk, Freddy Thompson, 45, Election officer William E.Stivers, 56, Paul E.Bishop, 60, William B.Morris, 66, and Debra L. Morris, 49.

“ "FRANKFORT, KY—A former democratic election commissioner in Clay County was sentenced today to 20 years for his role in helping a criminal enterprise make millions of dollars and obtain power and authority in the county.

Charles Wayne Jones, 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Danny C. Reeves for conspiring with a former circuit court judge, a school superintendent, and other county officials in schemes that involved racketeering, money laundering, and voter fraud.

Last March, a jury convicted Jones and seven others for their roles in the above mentioned schemes. The jury also found that the eight men were jointly liable for $3.4 million that represented the salaries and contracts they were able to get as a result of the conspiracies.

Jones is the second defendant sentenced today. William Stivers was sentenced to 292 months this morning.

As an election commissioner, Jones helped the Clay County board of elections control the outcome of the primary and general elections for the years 2002, 2004, and 2006.

Evidence at the trial proved that during elections, Jones picked election officers who assisted in corrupting the voting process at Jones’ direction. Jones also gave specific instructions to the officers on how to manipulate the voting machines to steal votes. This was done so that the enterprise could ensure victory for the slate of candidates they wanted in county offices."

-U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Kentucky, FBI

”

Monroe County, KY County Judge Executive Wilbur Graves, 5 Others

“ "LOUISVILLE, KY—A Tompkinsville, Kentucky woman is the last of six defendants to plead guilty to charges of conspiring to buy votes in the 2006 General Election in Monroe County, Kentucky, announced David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Martha Hughes, age 49, averted a trial scheduled for next week and pled guilty, before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Robert Goebel in Bowling Green, Kentucky on December 7, 2011 to conspiring to knowingly and willfully pay and offering to pay voters for voting in the general election.

“Attempts to corrupt the election process will simply not be tolerated,” stated David J. Hale, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky. “Vote buying is a serious crime. It undermines our democratic process and weakens public confidence in the election system. My office, in partnership with the FBI, will continue to pursue those who would attempt to subvert free and fair elections in Kentucky.”

The Indictment alleges that beginning in October, 2006, and continuing to the date of the general election on November 7, 2006, Tony Gumm, Martha J. Hughes, Jeffrey Todd Newport, William H. Proffitt, Corey Page, and Michael Page, conspired to pay voters to cast walk-in absentee ballots. The object of the conspiracy was to secure the election for Gumm and other candidates. At the time, Gumm was a write-in candidate for Monroe County Magistrate.

All six defendants have admitted to participating in this scheme in which voters were instructed to lie about their intended whereabouts on Election Day, and to falsely state they were blind, disabled or unable to read English and thus in need of assistance to vote. Members of the conspiracy would then accompany the voters into the booth to cast the voters’ ballot. The indictment specifies 17 voters who were paid $25 to $80 for voting in the election.

Tony A. Gumm pled guilty and was sentenced to serve three years’ probation, with eight months home detention and pay a $4,000 fine on July 21, 2011in U.S. District Court, Bowling Green, Kentucky by Chief Judge Joseph H. McKinley, Jr.

On June 9, 2011, William H. Proffitt entered a guilty plea in United States District Court and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 22, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. before Chief Judge McKinley. Michael Page, age 52, and his nephew Corey Page, age 31, pled guilty on Monday, December 5, 2011 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Goebel in Owensboro, Kentucky. Todd Newport, age 28, pled guilty as well before Magistrate Judge Goebel Friday, December 2, 2011 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The maximum potential penalties for Proffitt, Newport, Michael Page and Corey Page are five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years. Michael and Corey Page are scheduled for sentencing on March 2, 2012 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Martha Hughes remains on bond, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 2, 2012, at 9 a.m., CST, before Chief Judge McKinley. The maximum potential penalty for Hughes is five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and supervised release for a period of three years.

In a separate federal indictment, the former Monroe County Judge-Executive, Wilbur Graves, and three Tompkinsville residents were charged with conspiracy to buy votes during the same 2006 Monroe County, Kentucky general election. After a three day trial, Graves was convicted of conspiring with others to buy votes in order to guarantee his re-election. Gary Bartley pled guilty while Ronald Muse and Wanda Moore entered plea agreements with the United States Attorney’s Office and testified against Graves at trial.

Both cases were prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas W. Dyke, Assistant United States Attorney Randy Ream, Chief of the Criminal Division for the United States Attorney’s Office, Teddy Kang and Edward Sullivan, Trial Attorneys with the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

”

MT Governor Brian Schweitzer

Schweitzer bragged in a speech to a legal group about how he had intervened to get fellow Democrat Jon Tester elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2006 elections. Schweitzer described his use of the police to stop poll workers from monitoring a Native American tribal district so that "We didn't lose one single vote." The Governor also boasted of how he manipulated the crucial Butte County vote, by calling the county clerk and recorder in charge of vote counting, Mary A. McMahon. When McMahon told him she would finish counting votes in 15 minutes, Schweitzer told her that he would call her when she was finished. Attempts by Republicans to initiate an investigation were rejected by the Democratic State Attorney General Mike McGrath.

2005 Elections

Shelby County, TN--6 Charged Including 3 Poll Workers

In an unusual step, the Tennessee State Senate voted 26-6 to void the 2005 special election that had been very narrowly won by Democrat Ophelia Ford against Republican Terry Roland by just 13 votes out of 8,748 ballots cast. Following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, 37 charges that included illegal voting and filing false entries were filed against three poll workers in Shelby County, Verline Mayo, Gertrude Otteridge, and Mary McClatcher. The poll workers forged at least three votes including two in the names of dead voters, and were fired by the Election Commission. Although Ford was removed from office after the election was voided, the Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons stressed that there was no evidence she herself was involved. According to Gibbons, "There was an effort on the part of certain individuals in Precinct 27-1 to cast some illegal votes for Miss Ford, but I stress that there was nothing to indicate that she knew anything about that."

Nonetheless, Ford's actions were themselves suspicious. She filed suit to block the State Senate's decision, and her brother, Harold Ford Sr., the former State Senator who she was replacing and who had just been removed from office on charges of federal bribery and public corruption, intervened on her behalf to falsely accuse a Republican poll worker named Martha Hensley.

Greensboro, AL--City Clerk Gay Nell Tinker

The Greensboro city clerk, Gay Nell Tinker, who served from 2001-07, plead guilty in 2010 to 5 misdemeanor charges of absentee ballot fraud in the 2004 and 2005 elections, in exchange for prosecutors dropping 13 felony counts and allowing her to retain her position as Greensboro's municipal court magistrate. She was involved in several schemes to benefit multiple Democrat candidates including her spouse, State Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, and her brother, Circuit Court Judge Marvin Wiggins.

2004 Elections

Noxubee County, MS Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Ike Brown

In a first-of-its-kind case, United States v. Ike Brown, the U.S. Justice Department prosecuted MS Democratic Executive Committee Chairman Ike Brown for discriminating against white voters to get black politicians elected through a variety of tactics including illegally marking absentee ballots, sending white voters letters warning them they will be challenged at the polls, and importing black voters into the county. Brown was convicted in 2007 of voter suppression, and was earlier convicted of tax fraud in 1995. As reported by the Wall Street Journal,:

“ "Explosive stuff, so why haven't you heard about it? Because the Noxubee case doesn't fit the media stereotype for voting rights abuses. The local political machine is run by Ike Brown, a twice-convictex felon. Mr. Brown is black, and the voters who were discriminated against were white. Judge Lee concluded that Mr. Brown retained his power 'by whatever means were necessary." According to the judge, Mr. Brown believed that "blacks, being the majority race in Noxubee County, should hold all elected offices, to the exclusion of whites.' (Whites are 30% of the county's 12,500 people, but only two of the 26 elected county officials.) Judge Lee also criticized top officials of the state Democratic Party for "failing to take action to rectify [Mr. Brown's] abuses.'"
-John Fund, Wall Street Journal ”

Appalachia, VA--Mayor Ben Cooper and 13 Others

The Mayor of Appalachia, VA, Ben Cooper, was found guilty of 243 violations of Virginia election laws for stealing the 2004 election, and sentenced to two years in jail. The Grand Jury indicted him and his other 13 conspirators which included two of his running mates, two police officers, a former mail carrier, and city council member Owen Sharrett along with six of his family members on over 1,000 violations for buying votes with cigarettes, beer, and pork rinds, stealing mail-in ballots, and forging signatures. The case was the largest voter fraud case in Virginia history. In a blatant abuse of power, the mayor used the police force to search the homes of his enemies, stealing TVs, property, and money.

Dodge County, GA Sheriff Michael L. Douglass Jr., 1 Other

“ "SAVANNAH, GA—Edward J. Tarver, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia, announced today that former Dodge County Sheriff MICHAEL LAWTON DOUGLAS, JR., age 38, of Eastman, Georgia, and former Dodge County Deputy Sheriff OLIN NORMAN GIBSON a/k/a “Bobo,” age 43, of Helena, Georgia, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Dudley H. Bowen, Jr. at the U.S. Courthouse in Dublin, Georgia, in connection with election fraud during Douglas’s first campaign for Dodge County sheriff in 2004.

Douglas won the Democratic nomination for sheriff following a primary election held on July 20, 2004, and a primary run-off election held on August 10, 2004. Douglas won the primary runoff election by approximately 400 votes. He ran unopposed in the general election held November 2, 2004, and was thereby elected sheriff. Douglas served as Dodge County sheriff following election in 2004 until his re-election campaign was defeated in 2008.

On Thursday, Douglas pled guilty to conspiring to buy votes and to vote more than once in connection with the 2004 sheriff election, in violation of federal law. Gibson pled guilty to buying a vote for Douglas in connection with that election. At the change-of-plea hearing, the government presented evidence that Douglas himself provided money to various supporters, including Gibson, to be used to buy votes—that is, to pay voters to vote for him in the election. The evidence also revealed that Douglas supporters paid voters for their absentee ballots, and in particular blank absentee ballots, then filled those ballots out with votes for Douglas and cast them in the election.

Douglas and Gibson each face a maximum statutory penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Both Douglas and Gibson remain on bond pending their sentencing hearing, which has not yet been scheduled.

U.S. Attorney Tarver recognized the extensive cooperative efforts of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation in bringing this criminal activity to light. He praised particularly the tireless efforts of GBI Special Agent Eve Rodgers and FBI Special Agent Ed Sutcliff, the lead case agents assigned to the investigation. According to Tarver, “Election fraud strikes at the very heart of our democracy, and this office and our law enforcement partners are committed to punishing those who seek to steal or dilute the power of each voter to participate meaningfully in civic society.”

The government was represented in this case by Assistant United States Attorneys Brian Tanner and Joe Newman."

”

Atkinson County, GA--Jerry Metts

Metts was found guilty of helping five illegal immigrants cast ballots during the 2004 county commission election.

2003 Elections

East Chicago, IN--Mayor Robert Pastrick

The 2003 mayoral primary in East Chicago, IN resulted in Democrat Robert Pastrick initially winning, until the courts overturned the result upon finding massive absentee ballot fraud had occurred. At least 5 people were convicted for election fraud relating to the election, including Eduardo Perez, Sr., Alycia Mendiola, and Antonio Mendiola. Altogether, 17 people were charged in relation to the widespread ballot fraud that election, including one example of a "Democratic precinct committeeman who was accused of giving a gift in exchange for a vote."

2002 Elections

Washington D.C.--Councilman Tony Williams

Williams was running for a second term when NBC 4 reported that his petition signatures were fabricated. He won a second term despite being fined $277,000 and being forced to run as a write-in candidate.

Bridgeport, CT--Probate Judge Paul J. Ganim

Probate Judge Paul J. Ganim narrowly beat out his opponent Kevin F. Boyle in the 2002 Democratic primary election. Boyle appeared to be leading by 38 votes, but a large number of absentee ballots ended up giving Ganim the advantage by 3,404 to 3,114.

“ "While Mayor Joseph P. Ganim is on trial facing federal corruption and racketeering charges, his brother, Judge Paul J. Ganim, the city's judge of probate, is being investigated for improperly using absentee ballots in the 2002 Democratic primary for probate judge... Mr. Boyle claimed that an abnormal numberof city workers had applied for absentee ballots, and that in a city where his opponent's brother is the mayor, workers were either pressured to vote for Judge Ganim or simply handed their ballots to someone else, who used them to vote for Judge Ganim."

-Jeff Holtz, New York Times

”

2001 Elections

Compton, CA--City Councilwoman, Leslie Irving

The 2001 elections in Compton, CA were temporarily overturned by Judge Judith C. Chirlin who determined that city councilwoman Leslie Irving and three of her family members committed voter fraud. Irving was then permanently banned from holding office in California. The mayor, Eric Perrodin, was also removed by the judge, and replaced with his opponent Omar Bradley. Perrodin ultimately won on appeal in Bradley v. Perrodin (2003) and returned to office, but Irving's conviction was upheld.

“ "The judge ruled that because Perrodin’s name illegally appeared first on all ballots, he got an improper statistical advantage worth at least 306 votes, enough to determine the outcome. The ruling was based on research by an Ohio State political scientist who testified about the impact of the city clerk’s failure to randomly list the names of candidates on the ballot."

-Briscoe, Pool, & Wride, Los Angeles Times

”

Phenix City, AL--City Council Candidate & School Employee Convicted

A city council candidate, Nathaniel Gosha, was found guilty of 9 felony counts of falsifying ballots, 16 felony counts of possessing a forged instrument, and 12 misdemeanor counts of disclosing absentee votes. Russell County schools employee Lizzie May Perry plead guilty to absentee ballot fraud as well in exchange for prosecutors dropping 56 of the 60 charges against her.

“ "The indictments charged that Gosha and Perry falsified ballots by having people sign as witnesses to absentee ballot affidavits that had not been signed or sworn by the alleged voters, and by putting false information about the voters’ places of residence on absentee ballot affidavits. Perry said she arranged for citizens to apply for absentee ballots for the city election. She then had witnesses at her Russell County School District Head Start office sign affidavits for the ballots even though the applicants were not present and took 58 of the marked ballots to Brooks’ office.

-Tuscaloosa News

”

2000 Elections

Bridgeport, CT--10 Charged

Ten Democrats were charged with various voter fraud violations, primarily related to absentee ballot fraud. Those charged included Sybil Allen, Paulette Park, Ronald Caveness, George Cabrera, Carlos Reinoso, Loretta Sarro, Linda L. Morre, Abraham Omonte, and Eva Christian. Additionally, Warren Blunt, a city councilman, resigned from the town committee, was fined $2,500, and agreed not to seek election for two years after he mishandled absentee ballots in the March 7, 2000 Democratic Town Committee primary election.

1999 Elections

Oakland, CA--Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris

The Oakland Mayor Elihu Harris left in disgrace after he and the California Democratic Party sent out mailers in the February 1999 Democratic primary election offering voters chicken dinners and potato salad if they provided proof of voting for him (his opponent Audie Bock of the Green Party won anyway).

“ "Harris could have been hurt in the primaries by his refusal to debate Bock. He has also been highly criticized in the media for what Bock campaign manager Greg Jan called 'Chickengate.' In an effort to increase voter turnout in the February primary campaign, the state Democratic Party offered free chicken and potato salad in some precincts to voters who brought ballot receipts to a distribution center. 'A lot of people saw it (the dinner coupons) as unethical and a cynical ploy. If you are going to get out the vote why don't you do it in a more grassroots way instead of buying the vote?" said Michael Yarne, an East-Bay Green Party member and a Law student at UC Berkeley. "The chicken dinner also has some subtext of racism. The media more than anyone picked that up. It wasn't Bock's campaign that pushed that.'"

-Sunny Kaplan, Stateline

”

Harrold, SD--Janice Howe

Janice Howe of Harrold, SD was charged with forging signatures on a petition and lying about witnessing others sign the petition. She was arrested on an outstanding warrant in 2015 and sentenced to time served with 4 years probation.

1998 Elections

83rd District, TX--200+ Votes Thrown Out After Illegal Voting

Over 200 fraudulent votes were cast in the 1998 Democratic primary election between Steve Spurgin and Frank Brown, as BOTH candidates accused each other of differing types of voter fraud in a race initially decided by a single vote. Dozens of elderly disabled illegal immigrants who could not speak English testified that Candida Rangel had gone to their homes with absentee ballots and told them who to vote for, and said they couldn't go vote themselves because of their age; many could not even remember who they had voted for.

“ "On the first of the two days of trial, Brown’s lawyers called a handful of these witnesses, all disabled, all old, none of whom could read or speak English, to the stand. All testified that they voted from home using mail-in ballots and that they were told for whom to vote. Zacarias Leyva Villa said that Spurgin’s hired hand, Candida Rangel, 'came to my house to help me fill out papers. She told me what was going to happen and to vote for that man…. She gave me his card.'... By the close of the day’s proceedings, Judge Jordan was up to his robes in electoral muck. He had thrown out the votes of five witnesses, and was still faced with the prospect of convoluted and implausible testimony from dozens more. He was also faced with the impossible task of determining not only with which candidate each of those voters sided (not all the witnesses could recall who they voted for), but also for whom the two hundred or so other contested mail ballots were cast."

-Bill Adler, Texas Observer

”

1997 Elections

Miami, FL--Mayor Xavier L. Suarez and 35 Others

A total of 36 people were charged with a massive voter fraud scheme in the Miami mayoral elections between incumbent Xavier L. Suarez and Joe Carollo, many of them campaign workers for the Suarez campaign. The former mayor, Joe Carollo, saw the election result overturned after extensive voter fraud surfaced.

The City Commissioner Humberto Hernandez and his Chief of Staff Jorge Luis de Goti, were arrested for using voter fraud to steal the 1997 Miami city elections. Jose De Goti Sr. was convicted of falsely registering a police officer and his wife so they could cast fraudulent votes in the 1997 Miami election.

“ "Judge Thomas Wilson, Jr., for the Circuit Court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, found that massive absentee voter fraud tainted the electoral process. 'Witness after witness testified, without contradiction, that they either 1) did not vote, 2) did not sign the ballots in question, 3) did not live in the district in which their ballot was cast, 4) did not live in the City of Miami, 5) did not know the person who `witnessed' their signature or said someone other than the names witness actually `witnessed' their vote, 6) did not live at the address that was given on the request for the absentee ballot, 7) did not request an absentee ballot and/or 8) did not qualify as `unable to vote.' Trial Court at 2-3. Judge Wilson found that this fraud scheme, 'literally and figuratively, stole the ballot from the hands of every honest voter in the City of Miami.' Id. at 3. As a result, 'the integrity of the election was adversely affected.' Id. Judge Wilson held that the appropriate remedy was to void the first Mayoral election and hold a new election. The Third District Court of Appeal of Florida agreed that massive fraud occurred in the electoral process, but held that the appropriate remedy was to invalidate only the absentee ballots from the November 4, 1997, election. The court citing to almost sixty years of Florida precedent stated that it 'refuse[d] to disenfranchise the more than 40,000 voters who, on November 4, 1997, exercised their constitutionally guaranteed right to vote in the polling places of Miami.' See In Re Matter of the Protest, 707 So. 2d at 1174 (citing State ex rel. Whitley v. Rinehart, 140 Fla. 645, 192 So. 819, 823 (Fla.1939); Wilson v. Revels, 61 So. 2d 491 (Fla.1952); Boardman v. Esteva, 323 So. 2d 259 (Fla. 1975); Bolden v. Potter, 452 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 1984)). Because Carollo received a majority (51.41%) of the machine vote in the initial election, the court declared him the Mayor of Miami."

-Justice Edward B. Davis, Scheer v. City of Miami (1998)

”

1996 Elections

Orange County, CA--U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez

Former U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez (1996-2017) who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2016 only won through some of the best-substantiated voter fraud in U.S. history. After narrowly winning her seat by a narrow 984-vote margin against long-time Republican incumbent Robert K. Dornan, a House investigation determined that the race had 624 non-citizen illegal votes, and another 124 votes had been inappropriately delivered. However, because the 748 fraudulent votes left her with a 236-vote margin, her election was upheld.

Dodge County, GA--Sheriff Jackson Jones and Commissioner Don McCranie

The commissioner and sheriff were found guilty, along with their supporters, of vote-buying and vote-selling (among other similar offenses) in United States v. McCranie. Multiple elections were overturned and dozens were indicted in what would prove one of the largest voter fraud cases to that point.

1995 Elections

PA--Rep. Austin Murphy

Former U.S. Representative for Pennsylvania's 20th and 22nd Districts, Austin Murphy, a Democrat, was found guilty on a misdemeanor charge of marking the ballot of another person. Six other charges against him including three felony charges relating to voter fraud were dropped by the District Attorney without explanation. Murphy forged absentee ballots for elderly nursing home patients, some of whom, like Mabel Boger, were Republicans.

“ "In 1995, Wharton Auditor Sondra Cesarino noticed an unusually high number of absentee ballots. After the May 1997 primary, she challenged nine absentee ballots. According to a county grand jury report, Murphy, township tax collector Shirley Hughes and nursing home operator Peggy Bouras forged absentee ballots for nursing home residents and wrote in Murphy's wife, Eileen, for township election judge. The job pays $60."

-Bill Heltzel, Post-Gazette

”

Greensboro, AL--Policeman, 1 Other Convicted

“ "It was only four years ago that former Greensboro policeman Aaron Evans was convicted in Hale County of absentee ballot voter fraud. He was convicted of forging and casting seven absentee ballots in the 1995 municipal election. A second defendant pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor absentee ballot fraud charge."

-Dana Beyerle (2002), Tuscaloosa News

”

1994 Elections

Greene County, AL--Civil Rights Leader Spiver Gordon and 8 Others

A civil rights leader who helped register blacks to vote as a state lieutenant under Martin Luther King Jr. was caught in a wide-ranging case of voter fraud. Spiver Gordon, 59, also lost his post as a Eutaw City Council member and was sentenced to six months in federal prison for asking someone outside his county to fill out an absentee ballot and list an address in the county. Gordon at the time was also the Vice President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, formerly led by Martin Luther King Jr.

A total of 8 others were caught in the federal probe, including Greene County Commissioner Pinto Smith and Connie Tyree, a county employee and Deputy Registrar, which centered around the controversial 1994 county elections won by county commissioner Garria Spencer after he received over half of his votes from absentee ballots. Spencer and the County Chief of Staff Spencer Cook attributed criticism of the elections to racism. Six of the defendants were convicted, and three plead guilty through plea bargaining.

“ "Mr. Spencer received half of his votes from absentee ballots in the questionable 1994 elections. Dozens of absentee ballots were requested by different individuals at the same address, said Johnnie Knott, the circuit clerk. Ballots were sent to addresses that turned out to be county agencies, and voters in one part of the county asked for ballots to be sent to a post office box outside their district."

-Adam Nossiter, New York Times

”

Shelby County, AL--2,000 Ballots Disqualified, Chief Justice Election Overturned

The election results for the 1994 election for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court hinged upon thousands of absentee ballots that Alabama state election officials attempted to leave uncounted. Following a lawsuit by Republican Chief Justice candidate Perry O. Hooper, Sr. and State Treasurer candidate James D. Martin, Hooper would go on to win election, after 2,000 inappropriately documented absentee ballots were thrown out by the courts. See Roe v. Mobile County Appointment Bd. (1995)

“ "Hooper received about 270 more votes than Hornsby but had some 2,000 questionable absentee ballots been counted, Hornsby was the likely winner because most of those ballots came from Democratic counties. The questioned ballots had not been properly witnessed by at least two people or a notary public as required by state law. Democrats argued the ballots 'substantially' complied with the law. But ultimately a court said that improperly witnessed ballots could not be counted and Hooper was declared the winner nearly 11 months after the election."

-Dana Beyerle, Tuscaloosa News

”

1993 Elections

Bridgeport, CT--2 Charged

“ "March 18, 1994 -- Jacqueline Rogers, a campaign worker for James Holloway, a City Council candidate, was barred from participating in campaigns for five years. During the Sept. 14, 1993 primary, Rogers wore a nurse's uniform with a certified nurse's name tag, and solicited and collected seven 'emergency' absentee ballot votes. She also instructed at least one of the voters to cast her ballot for Holloway. Additionally, the commission determined Rogers was paid $150 for her service at the direction of Dr. Ralph Ford. Both Rogers and Ford claimed the payment was for office work but the commission did not find their statements credible. Holloway defeated incumbent Mary Brantley by just nine votes."

-CT Post

”

1992 Elections

Philadelphia, PA--State Senator William G. Stinson

William G. Stinson of the Democratic Party was found in Marks v. Stinson (1994) to have stolen the 1992 State Senate election for Philadelphia's Second Senatorial District from his Republican opponent Bruce S. Marks through hundreds of fraudulent absentee ballots.

“ "Judge Newcomer ruled that the Democratic campaign of William G. Stinson had stolen the election from Bruce S. Marks in North Philadelphia's Second Senatorial District through an elaborate fraud in which hundreds of residents were encouraged to vote by absentee ballot even though they had no legal reason -- like a physical disability or a scheduled trip outside the city -- to do so. In many instances, according to Republicans who testified during a four-day civil trial last week, Democratic campaign workers forged absentee ballots. On many of the ballots, they used the names of people who were living in Puerto Rico or serving time in prison, and in one case, the voter had been dead for some time."

-Michael Decourcy Hinds, New York Times

"Notably, and of recent date, Philadelphia's Senate election, in which the Democratic candidate ostensibly had prevailed, was invalidated on the basis of findings that absentee votes cast by non-residents and deceased voters had been fraudulently obtained and counted. See Marks v. Stinson, No. 93-6157, 1994 WL 47710 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 18, 1994), vacated in part, 19 F.3d 873 (3d Cir. 1994). Indeed, as recently as April 13, 1994, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported under the headline, 'City Purging 2d District Voter Rolls,' that at least twenty-two individuals were 'purged' because they either had died or no longer lived in the district but had, nevertheless, cast votes in the most recent election--the very fraudulent acts which the purge statute was designed to overcome.22 Even the dissent acknowledges that electoral fraud has been a part of Philadelphia's landscape for over 100 years. See Dissent op. at 333 n. 22."

-Circuit Judge Garth, SEIU v. City of Philadelphia

”

1991 Elections

Chicago Heights, IL--Charles Cosey & Charles Augustyniak

Charles Cosey, 51, of Chicago Heights, IL was indicted for fraudulently requesting eight absentee ballots which were then filled out with different names and addresses in the Chicago Heights February 1991 primary election. Cosey was charged with forgery, perjury, mutilation of election materials, and disregarding the state election code. Also pleading guilty was Charles Augustyniak, 33, of Orland Park, IL, who attempted to register DuPage County relatives as Cook County voters.

Sunflower County, MI--Charles T. Rogers

The courts invalidated the October 1991 election for sheriff of Sunflower County and ordered a new election due to 12 illegal absentee ballots. Absentee ballots went to voters who didn't request them, were voted without voters' permission, and voters stated they would have voted for the other candidate. Although Charles T. Rogers initially won 3,716-3,680 against the incumbent, Ned Holder, Holder went on to win the new election convincingly, 4,147-3,568. The Supreme Court of Mississippi then upheld the new election result in Rogers v. Holder (1994) given the absentee ballot fraud that had occurred.

1990 Elections

Bridgeport, CT--State Rep. Mario Testa Campaign Worker

A campaign worker for Bridgeport, CT Democratic Committee Chairman and then-State Rep. Mario Testa, Curtis E. Mouning, was fined $500 for forging the names of five people, including his parents, so they could vote in the September 11, 1990 Democratic primary elections.

San Francisco, CA--16 Union Officials Convicted of Ballot Fraud

The 1988, 1989, and 1990 elections were all affected by absentee ballot fraud, with union leaders collecting ballots and marking them in their own interests. Nonetheless, the Court reversed their convictions anyway on grounds that the initial trial court lacked jurisdiction.

“ "According to the evidence at trial, in the 1988, 1989, and 1990 elections appellants and other union leaders solicited and collected unmarked and unsealed ballots, voting them in favor of appellants' interests. The evidence also showed that some tampering of collected ballots occurred, including opening sealed ballots and replacing those ballots voted against appellants' interests with new ballots voted in their favor. A federal grand jury returned a ten-count indictment against DeFries, Dodson, and fourteen other former union officials. The indictment charged appellants with one count of racketeering in violation of RICO, 18 U.S.C. s 1962(c) (1994); one count of conspiracy to violate RICO, 18 U.S.C. s 1962(d) (1994); one count of embezzlement with respect to the severance payments, 29 U.S.C. s 501(c) (1994); and three counts of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. s 1341 (1994), with regard to the 1988 merger referendum, the 1989 national delegate election, and 1990 union officers' election. The RICO count included two charges of mail fraud with regard to the 1984 and 1987 elections as two of the alleged racketeering acts; it also incorporated the other mail fraud counts and the embezzlement count as racketeering acts. A seventh racketeering act incorporated one count of extortion but did not apply to appellants. The RICO conspiracy count incorporated all seven racketeering acts of the RICO count...

[Appellants] did engage in a variety of conduct in violation of the MBA constitution, by-laws and election procedures, and in violation of [29 U.S.C. ss 411, 481], including:

-- Soliciting and collecting unsealed ballots and voting them in favor of the defendants' interests;

-- Soliciting and collecting sealed ballots and unsealing them to determine how a union member had voted;

-- Discarding those ballots voted against the defendants' interests and replacing them with duplicates;

-- Using U.S. mails to request duplicate ballots in violation of union by-laws and election procedures;

-- Using the improperly obtained ballots to replace discarded ballots;

-- Using the U.S. mails to send and receive duplicate and original ballots, requests for duplicates, and completed duplicate ballots;

-- Causing original and duplicate ballots to be mailed so as to appear that union members had mailed the ballots themselves.

The last six activities involve either some form of tampering with the ballots or a dishonest service, each of which could support a conviction: The second, third, and fifth involve tampering with voted ballots; the fourth and sixth involve obtaining and sending duplicate ballots used to replace dis- carded ballots without voter authority; and the seventh involves giving the fraudulent appearance that union members had voted and mailed the ballots themselves."

-U.S. Court of Appeals, USA v. Defries

”

1988 Elections

CT--State Sen./Rep. Ernest Newton

Ernest Newton (D), a Connecticut State Sen. from 2003-06 and State Rep. from 1998-2003, paid a $1,000 penalty for committing absentee ballot fraud in the September 14, 1988 primary election. He filled out Ada Crosby's absentee ballot form, requested she sign it, and then mailed it for her.

1987 Elections

Chicago, IL--100,000 Election Irregularities Including Fraud

Massive voter fraud in the February Chicago Democratic primary election was at an epic scale, with thousands and thousands of obviously fraudulent votes. According to former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb who at the time headed Election Watch, "Based on our prelimary investigation, it is clear to me that at least 50,000 people were allowed to illegally cast ballots in the primary. It is my opinion that a full-scale investigation could show that the number of improper votes equal or exceeded what was found in 1982. We will ask for such an investigation."

“ "A canvass of voter records by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners projects that 36,000 to 52,000 people were permitted by election judges to improperly cast ballots that day. And an election watchdog group headed by former U.S. Atty. Dan Webb has developed information that shows thousands of additional illegal votes were cast that the election board`s canvass would not catch, Webb said... The Tribune, which obtained a copy of the election board`s canvass results, conducted a survey that corroborated the preliminary findings of the election board and Webb`s group. The Tribune also found at least 14 instances where someone voted in the name of a dead person. The election board`s routine post-election canvass conducted last week compared the signatures on voter applications with those on voter registration cards and other records in a random sample of 5 percent of the city`s 2,900 precincts. In thousands of instances, according to the canvass results, people were allowed to vote even though they weren`t registered."

-Mark Eissman, Chicago Tribune

”

Hoboken, NJ--Councilman David Roberts

Hoboken councilman David Roberts was indicted for violating election law by committing voter fraud in the May 1987 municipal election. Roberts sought to bribe college students at Stevens Institute of Technology to vote for him by purchasing them a keg of beer. After deciding not to plead guilty the charges were dropped and he went on to win office as mayor anyway.

Inglewood, CA--4th District Councilman, Mayor

“ "Upon information and belief [Thomas] and/or his agents violated, and conspired to violate several provisions of Chapter 6 of Division 17 of the Election Code, including, but not limited to, Section 29610 (aiding or abetting fraud in connection with casting votes), Section 29611 (public official aiding the illegal casting of votes), Section 29612 (interference with fair election), 29622 (gift, payment, or other consideration to induce a person to vote), Section 29630 (use of tactic of coercion or intimidation), and Section 29642 (fraudulent Absent Voter ballot signature)'...On October 23, 1987, the findings of fact and conclusions of law were filed. As noted above, they are attached to this opinion as appendix A. Judgment was entered that same date. In pertinent part, it provided: 'It is ordered, adjudged and decreed as follows: 1. More than sixteen illegal votes were cast for Thomas in the June 16, 1987 runoff election for the fourth District Councilman for the City of Inglewood; accordingly, Thomas's election is annulled and set aside.'"

-Justice Goertzen, Hardeman v. Thomas (1989)

”

Dallas, TX--Robert Medrano

Robert Medrano beat out Guillermo Gallindo by 92 votes of 1,302 votes cast in a race for Dallas School Board. An analysis by the Dallas News subsequently found that 1/4 of all ballots in the race were fraudulent. Gallindo acknowledged that he knew of the fraud, but had declined to challenge it out of a desire to maintain unity in the local Hispanic community. Local Democratic party officials suppressed what was going on for political reasons.

1986 Elections

AL--Gubernatorial Candidate William Baxley

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the results of the June 24, 1986 Democratic primary election for Alabama Governor in Curry v. Baker (1996), determining that William Baxley had encouraged substantial illegal crossover voting in the race. A new election was then ordered.

“ "Curry v. Baker involved a primary runoff election for the Democratic candidate for Governor of Alabama in which there was massive illegal cross-over voting. Following the primary, the State Democratic Committee *1214 certified the candidate (William Baxley) receiving the majority of the legal votes over the candidate (Charles Graddick) receiving the majority of votes. Graddick and his supporters brought suit in the U.S. District Court alleging violations of due process and equal protection. The U.S. district judge ordered the Democratic Party to conduct a new primary and enjoined the disqualification of Graddick. A three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit reversed that judgment and remanded the case to the district court..."

-Supreme Court of Alabama, Roe v. Mobile County Appointment Bd. (1995)

"This is an application for a stay of the mandate of the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit pending the filing and disposition of a petition for certiorari. The case involves the legal contest between two candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Alabama.* One of the applicants received a majority of the votes cast in a runoff election held on June 24, 1986. A three-judge court found that the applicant had encouraged widespread violations of a state party rule against crossover voting in the runoff, a rule that apparently has the force of state law. Henderson v. Graddick, 641 F.Supp. 1192 (MD Ala.1986 ). The State Democratic Executive Committee conducted an investiga-"

-Justice Powell, Curry v. Baker (1996)

”

Pemiscot County, MI--Barbara Daugherty

“ "In 1986, the FBI began an investigation into allegations that people in Pemiscot County, Missouri had been paid to vote by absentee ballot in the 1986 primary election. A grand jury was convened in 1989 to investigate these charges, and appellant was called to testify in March 1990. She denied any involvement in the alleged voter fraud. Appellant was indicted on five counts of voter fraud, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1973i(c), and one count of making false statements to a grand jury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623. At the trial in November 1990, six women testified that appellant had driven them to the courthouse to vote absentee and had paid them for their vote. Appellant testified that she did not pay anyone to vote. She testified that she had driven one of these women, Marilyn Hudson, to the courthouse to vote because appellant's boyfriend and an acquaintance had asked her to do so. On rebuttal, both her boyfriend and the acquaintance denied asking her to drive Hudson to the courthouse to vote. The jury found her not guilty of voter fraud on counts I, II, and III, but guilty of voter fraud on counts IV and V and of making false statements to a grand jury on count VI... Appellant admits that her conviction on count VI for making false statements to a grand jury rests on her convictions for voter fraud. Because we find that there is sufficient evidence to support her convictions for voter fraud, we likewise uphold her conviction on this count."

-U.S.A. v. Daugherty (1991)

”

1985 Elections

Jersey City, NJ--Mayor Gerald McCann

The Mayor of Jersey City, NJ, Gerald McCann (D) along with Mark Munley, John J. Finn and Matthew Burns committed absentee ballot fraud in the 1985 election when running against Anthony Cucci and two others. Mayor McCann used letters to discourage minority voters from voting, removed them from voter rolls without notification, appointed policemen to harass eligible voters at local polling places, and directed district board members to prevent disqualified voters from voting. In Vargas v. Calabrese (1989) the Court addressed whether an insurance company is obligated to defend McCann et. al. legally.

“ "In general the plan, by design or in effect, had six major components, in which *716 some or all of the defendant third-party plaintiffs involved in this motion are alleged to have participated. First, letters were forwarded to residents of public housing projects tenanted by blacks and Hispanics informing them unless their names appeared on their apartment leases they would be unable to vote and would be prosecuted for doing so. Second, some five to six thousand names were placed on the challenge list without notification to these individuals and despite the fact that, although the list was purportedly drawn from the names of voters whose sample ballots had been returned as undeliverable, some of the listed individuals received sample ballots at their home addresses. Third, by virtue of his position as Chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Party, McCann was permitted in practice to select election district members who would, among other things, serve as challengers in the local polling places. McCann used this privilege to appoint off-duty Jersey City policemen to this function in heavily black and Hispanic voting districts. These officers allegedly harassed eligible voters and prevented them from casting ballots. Fourth, instructions were provided to all district board members directing them to prevent any individual whose name appeared on the challenge list from voting unless the voter produced a current lease, if the voter was a resident in public housing, or a phone, gas or electric bill in the voter's name. Fifth, color-coded lists of names used to challenge prospective voters on the basis of race were allegedly prepared and sixth, there was a failure to provide adequate bilingual assistance both at polling places and at the courthouse for those individuals that attempted to obtain court orders permitting them to vote."

-Judge Debevoise, Vargas v. Calabrese

”

1984 Elections

Greene County, AL--Spiver Whitney Gordon

Spiver Whitney Gordon was convicted by a jury for absentee ballot fraud, but the conviction was reversed after the Supreme Court held that the federal mail fraud statute used to prosecute him did not apply to elections.

“ "Petitioner contends that he was improperly charged with providing false information to an election official for the purpose of voting, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1973i(c).

1. Following a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, petitioner was convicted on two counts of mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1341, and two counts of providing false information to an election official for the purpose of voting in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1973i(c). /1/ He was sentenced to concurrent terms of three years' imprisonment, all but six months of which was suspended in favor of three years' probation; petitioner was also fined $500 on each mail fraud count. 1 R. 77.

The charges stemmed from petitioner's activities in connection with the casting of absentee ballots on September 4, 1984, in the Democratic Party primary election in Greene County, Alabama. Under Alabama law, a registered voter may cast an absentee ballot if he will be out of the county on the date of the election (Ala. Code Section 17-20-3(a) (1987)). The voter must sign an affidavit as to his eligibility to vote; the affidavit must be verified by a notary public or by two witnesses (id. Sections 17-10-7, 17-10-8); and the affidavit must accompany the absentee ballot in order for the ballot to be counted (id. Section 17-10-9).

The evidence at trial showed that petitioner fraudulently claimed to have witnessed the signatures of two purported absentee voters on the affidavits submitted with their ballots. In particular, petitioner had signed the two absentee ballot envelopes as a witness even though he had not seen the two voters sign the affadavits; in fact, the two purported voters had not signed the affidavits. 11 R. 17, 34, 36-37, 59-61. The purported voters were petitioner's relatives, Nebraska Underwood and Frankland Underwood. Nebraska Underwood, who had moved from Greene County in January 1984, did not know that his name had been used on an absentee ballot and had not voted in the Greene County election (10 R. 204-210). Similarly, Frankland Underwood, who had moved from the county before the election, had not applied for an absentee ballot, had not signed such a ballot, and had not authorized anyone to vote in his name (7 R. 138-140, 142-144, 163-164, 171)."

”

NY--State Sen. Richard E. Schermerhorn

“ "Ingber was convicted for mail fraud in connection with his election and tenure as Supervisor for the Town of Fallsburg, New York. The indictment charged that Ingber, by falsifying voting documents including absentee ballots cast in the election, had defrauded the citizens of Fallsburg 'of their ballots and their right to a fair and impartial electoral process,' and that he had obtained through fraud 'the salary, powers and privileges of the Office of Supervisor' ('count nine' or the 'election fraud scheme'). In addition, Ingber was charged, inter alia, with using the mails as part of a scheme to conceal his interest in co-defendant Service Scaffold, Inc. ('Scaffold') in order to steer a $540,000 town sewer project to Scaffold [in which Ingber had an interest], thereby depriving Fallsburg of his honest services while reaping a pecuniary benefit for Scaffold ("count five" or the 'sewer fraud scheme')."

-Justice Goettel, U.S.A. v. Schermerhorn

”

1983 Elections

Copiah County, MI--District 4 Supervisor W.E. Hood & 4 Others

In Welch v. McKenzie (1984) the U.S. District Court found that the District 4 Supervisor, W.E. Hood, had committed voter fraud to win the Democratic primary election by 19 votes (877-858) over Manuel Welch, since 6 votes were clearly fraudulent, and dozens more violated absentee ballot laws. The Supreme Court of Mississippi overturned Hood's victory and declared Manuel Welch the winner. W.E. Hood and four others convicted of absentee ballot fraud then successfully sued to gain retrial by a different grand jury in Hood v. State. (1988) The others named included Edwin E. Hood, Frank Hood, Ricky Smith, and Arnold Carraway. However, the new grand jury re-indicted them the next month, leading to guilty pleas by all five.

Hood and his associates were targeted by the U.S. government as part of a much larger undercover operation, Operation Pretense, which "resulted in felony convictions or guilty pleas involving 56 of the 410 supervisors in twenty-six of the state’s eighty-two counties."

“ "The environment of political corruption in Copiah County that Operation Pretense brought to light so vividly was evident even in the early 1980s when a thirty-year supervisor was convicted of vote fraud and removed from office. District four supervisor W.E. 'Ed' Hood; his sons, Edwin Earl Hood and Frank Hood; district four employee Rickey Smith; and former district four constable Arnold Carraway were convicted of using absentee ballots to rig the December 23, 1983 runoff election between Ed Hood and Manuel Welch for the district four post. Hood had been declared winner of the special election with 877 votes against Welch's 858."

-James R. Crockett, "Operation Pretense: The FBI's Sting on County Corruption in Mississippi

"The official election returns indicate that W.E. Hood received a total of 877 votes, of which 111 were by absentee ballots cast at the following precincts: Dentville — 54; Carpenter — 31; Crystal Springs South — 24; Crystal Springs North — 1. Forty-nine of the absentee ballots cast for W.E. Hood at the Dentville precinct did not have the Certificate of Attesting Witness filled out on the back of the absentee envelopes. Nine of the absentee ballots cast for W.E. Hood at the Carpenter precinct did not have the Certificate of Attesting Witness filled out on the back of the absentee ballot envelopes... There was direct evidence of fraud in the instances of six electors of the Crystal Springs South Precinct in District Four. Applications for absentee ballots were signed for Patricia Tillman, Carrie Newell (in the name of Carolyn Tillman, her former maiden name), Mary Jane Tillman, Sandra Faye Tillman, Ora Lee Tillman and O.C. Tillman. Carrie Tillman and Mary Jane Tillman both testified that they had, in fact, signed those Applications. However, each of the six specifically testified that they had not signed the Affidavit on the absentee ballot envelope and that each would have voted for Manuel Welch rather than W.E. Hood. The testimony showed that one Sara "Fat Ivory" Johnson had brought the six applications to the Tillman home. Each of the Applications and the affidavits on the absentee ballot envelopes were acknowledged by Richard Belding as the notary public. Each of the applications, except that of Sandra Faye Tillman, shows that it was delivered by the registrar to Ricky Smith. The Court is convinced by clear and convincing evidence that fraud was perpetrated on these six voters and because of the aforementioned connection between Richard Belding and Defendant W.E. Hood and Ricky Smith and W.E. Hood that that fraud can be directly connected to W.E. Hood. Four of these fraudulent absentee ballots were actually counted, each having been counted for W.E. Hood. The absentee ballots of Sandra Faye Tillman and Ora Lee Tillman were not counted because those two persons actually went to the polls on election day and voted in person."

-Justice Griffin, Hood v. State

”

1982 Elections

Chicago, IL--58 Convicted

The massive government investigation resulted in 62 indictments and 58 convictions related to the November 2, 1982 election, including numerous election officials. Election officials sold votes at $2 each, forged absentee ballots, and bribed voters with alcohol.

“ "Webb, who as U.S. attorney supervised a two-year grand jury inquiry that found that more than 100,000 fraudulent votes were cast in November, 1982, said a comprehensive investigation of last month`s mayoral primary and aldermanic elections could yield similiar results. In what is considered the largest documented case of vote fraud in Chicago`s history, a federal grand jury returned 62 indictments that resulted in 58 convictions of election judges, precinct captains and other campaign workers in the 1982 election. The investigation began with FBI agents using a voter check similar to the random precinct canvass employed by the election board."

-Mark Eissman, Chicago Tribune

”

Clay County, NC--41 Convicted

To be fair, politicians on both sides were indicted in 'Project Westvote', one of the largest voter-fraud cases in history, including Sheriff E. Hartsell Moore Jr. (R) and his opponent Howard Barnard (D). Nor does the number reflect the actual number of those involved, since the federal investigators declined to prosecute vote-sellers, only the ones buying the votes.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in U.S.A. v. Odom (1984) addressed concerns by Mark Douglas Odom, an Alexander County deputy sheriff (D), along with others related to their convictions for absentee ballot fraud and mail fraud in a scheme to vote for a "straight Democratic" ticket by exploiting elderly and disabled nursing home residents. Others who had been convicted included Joyce Geraldine Beach, an employee for the County Clerk of Court running for reelection, Donna Wilke, a notary public and legal secretary responsible for sending forms to the County Clerk, Lackey, a part-time employee for the County Sheriff, and Benny Carol Dyson. Others involved in the scheme included Steve Connor of the Rest Home nursing home.

“ "What has made the difference in Clay County and other isolated communities in the rugged mountains of western North Carolina is a continuing Federal investigation into vote-buying and electoral fraud that has over three years resulted in the conviction of 41 people, including three sheriffs, three deputies, a local magistrate, a school board member and assorted voting officials. The investigation has dispatched an army of 2,000 Federal agents into the small towns and hollows of five counties. It is the largest Federal investigation ever mounted in North Carolina, and, prosecutors here say, it is second nationally only to Chicago in the number of vote fraud indictments produced so far... In neighboring Cherokee County, where the sheriff was also sent to prison, vote-buyers were convicted of bartering ballots in return for pints of liquor, cigarettes and six-packs of beer. And in Alexander County, Federal prosecutors successfully proved that candidates paid for the votes of residents of a local nursing home, even though many of them were incapable of casting ballots on their own."

-William E. Schmidt, New York Times

"Now western North Carolina, worlds away from Chicago in temperament or terrain, ranks second only to the Windy City in vote-fraud convictions, U.S. Justice Department officials say. The largest FBI investigation of vote fraud in recent history netted 65 indictments and 63 convictions in Chicago, while North Carolina's "Project Westvote" is at 50 indictments, 37 convictions and counting, the officials add... Project Westvote - the largest FBI investigation ever conducted in North Carolina - is going "full-steam ahead," says Bob Pence, the agent in charge for the state. Although there were a few complaints after the 1984 election, the investigators expect the upcoming May primary to be clean."

-Michele Cohen, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

”

1980 Elections

Columbia, SC State Sen. Eugene Carmichael, 35 Others Charged

State Senator Eugene Carmichael and numerous other public officials were convicted in a massive voter fraud conspiracy that included unlawful destruction of absentee ballots in the 1980 party primary election. Charges included conspiracy and mail fraud. Also convicted was the Dillon County Democratic Chairman Alan H. Schafer, a multi-millionaire amusement park owner and beer distributor, as well as Dillon County Sheriff Roy Lee, Dillon County Deputy Sheriff William P. Jones, Dillon County Councilman Lloyd 'Mickey' Meekins Jr., and Dillon County Councilman Elwood McQueen. Others convicted included Ralph Lane, Leon Moody and David K. Bethea.

“ "COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The guilty pleas of the Dillon County Democratic chairman and six others brings to 36 the number of people convicted of vote fraud in the June 1980 party primary, and authorities say the probe is continuing. Alan H. Schafer, 67, a multi-millionaire amusement park owner and beer distributor, pleaded guilty Monday to three charges rather than go through a trial. Each of the defendants charged with vote fraud since the election has either pleaded guilty or been convicted."

-Steve Hagey, UPI

"Seven persons, including a Democratic county chairman and a former sheriff, pleaded guilty today to vote buying, ending a year of investigation by the Federal authorities. They pleaded guilty in Federal District Court here to conspiracy to violate voting laws. Alan H. Schafer, the Dillon County Democratic chairman, also pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud. Mr. Schafer is considered one of South Carolina's most powerful politicians. The pleas ended an investigation of irregularities in the June 1980 primary and runoff elections in Dillon County."

-Associated Press, New York Times

”

1978 Elections

Pickens County, AL--Julia Wilder & Maggie Bozeman

The President of the NAACP, Maggie Bozeman, and Julia Wilder, the head of the Pickens County Voters League, were both arrested for committing absentee ballot fraud in the 1978 elections. Thirty-nine elderly and/or disabled African-American voters could not confirm having voted with the absentee ballots that had been issued in their names.

“ "Mrs. Wilder, 69 years old, was given the maximum five-year sentence by the all-white jury. Mrs. Bozeman, 51, was sentenced to four years' imprisonment. The women, both of whom are black, were tried separately on charges stemming from the local elections in 1978. In the campaign, Mrs. Wilder, president of the Pickens County Voters League, and Mrs. Bozeman, then president of the local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, began urging elderly, illiterate blacks to vote by absentee ballot... The two women picked up absentee ballot applications from the County Elections Commission and used central addresses for mailing them. They deposited 39 absentee ballots, all notarized by the same person, with the County Election Commission. The candidate preferences were identical in all respects. Then, on Election Day, one of the absentee voters appeared at the polls, demanding to vote. That, District Attorney Presley M. Johnston said, led to an investigation of the absentee ballots."

-Reginald Stuart, New York Times

”

1976 Elections

Operation Greylord

“ "Today marks an important anniversary in the annals of public corruption investigations in the United States.

Twenty years ago today, in a federal courtroom in Chicago, a jury found Harold Conn (top center in photo) guilty on all 4 counts of accepting bribes to be passed on to Cook County judges as payment for fixing tickets. The evidence? He had been caught live on FBI tapes.

This “bagman” had been Deputy Traffic Court Clerk in the Cook County judicial system, and he was the first defendant to be found guilty in a mammoth sting investigation of crooked officials in the Cook County courts.

It was called OPERATION GREYLORD, named after the curly wigs worn by British judges. And in the end—through undercover operations that used honest and very courageous judges and lawyers posing as crooked ones... and with the strong assistance of the Cook County court and local police—92 officials had been indicted, including 17 judges, 48 lawyers, eight policemen, 10 deputy sheriffs, eight court officials, and one state legislator. Nearly all were convicted, most of them pleading guilty (just a few are shown in our photo). It was an important first step to cleaning up the administration of justice in Cook County.

That’s really the whole point. Abuse of the public trust cannot and must not be tolerated. Corrupt practices in government strike at the heart of social order and justice. And that’s why the FBI has the ticket on investigations of public corruption as a top priority.

How’d that happen? Historically, of course, these cases were considered local matters. A county court clerk taking bribes? Let the county handle it.

But in the 1970s, state and local officials asked for help. They didn’t have the resources to handle such intense cases, and they valued the authority and credibility that outside investigators brought to the table. By 1976, the Department of Justice had created a Public Integrity Section, and the FBI was tasked with the investigations, focusing on major, systemic corruption in the body politic.

Who’s investigated? Public servants: members of Congress and state legislatures; members of the Administration and governors’ offices; judges and court staffs; all of law enforcement; all government agencies. Plus everyone who works with government and is willing to pay for “special favors”: lobbyists, contractors, consultants, lawyers, U.S. businesses in foreign countries, you name it.

What kind of crimes? Bribery, kickbacks, and fraud. Vote buying, voter intimidation, impersonation. Political coercion. Racketeering and obstruction of justice. Trafficking of illegal drugs.

How serious of a problem is it? Last year the FBI investigated 850 cases; brought in 655 indictments/informations; and got 525 who were either convicted or chose to plead.

Last words: Straight from Teddy Roosevelt: 'Unless a man is honest we have no right to keep him in public life, it matters not how brilliant his capacity, it hardly matters how great his power of doing good service on certain lines may be...No man who is corrupt, no man who condones corruption in others, can possibly do his duty by the community.'"

”

New Orleans, LA Rep. Richard Tonry

“ "Freshman U.S. Rep. Richard Tonry was forced to resign his newly won congressional seat in the face of accusations he allowed subordinates to stuff the ballot boxes in St. Bernard Parish to secure his narrow 1976 election. A federal grand jury eventually indicted 25 poll commissioners among allegations that some precincts recorded more votes than the number of people actually on the rolls."

-Tim Morris, NOLA.com

”

1975 Elections

San Francisco, CA--Jim Jones & Others

Jim Jones, the cult leader who famously committed suicide with nearly 1,000 of his followers, was in the words of John Fund of National Review "a Democratic vote fraudster." As observed by Fund, "Urban Dictionary defines 'chutzpah' as 'unmitigated gall,' and that’s what Podesta practiced in comparing Republicans to one of the most corrupt and menacing cults to ever attach itself to the Democratic party." The Jim Jones movement imported dozens of illegal voters into San Francisco to aid prominent California Democrat politicians in the 1975 elections.

Conway County, AR--County Clerk Jack Bland

Jack Bland, the Conway County clerk, was charged with destroying ballots in the 1975 Conway County Special Election, but charges were dropped in exchange for his resignation.

“ "Jack Bland, the county clerk who oversaw the 1968 election, said of the ballot discovery, "I'm just dumbfounded about it." Mr. Bland was charged with destroying ballots in a 1975 Conway County special election held to replace a state senator convicted of tax evasion, but the charges were dropped in exchange for Mr. Bland's resignation in 1978."

-New York Times

”

1972 Elections

Chicago, IL--1,000 Cases of Voter Fraud, 75 Indicted

George Bliss and William Mullen of the Chicago Tribune uncovered more than 1,000 cases of voter fraud in the March 21, 1972 Democratic primary election, which was then turned over to U.S. Attorney James R. Thompson. The Tribune found evidence of "ballot forgeries, inflated vote tallies, phony election judges, ghost voters, and violations of state and federal election codes." This resulted in 75 indictments by the Justice Department.

“ "The evidence compiled during the unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at the city's Democratic-controlled election machinery shows that only a token effort is made to stop systematic theft of votes... Forged ballot applications, often so crudely executed that they were impossible not to spot even under the most superficial examination. The forged applications were used in the primary election to ring up votes of dead, critically ill, unregistered, and non-existent persons and of voters who had not gone near a polling place on March 21. Blank ballot applications which had been used by crooked election judges to cast hundreds of votes for Democratic candidates."

-George Bliss and William Mullen, Chicago Tribune

”

The Chicago Tribune still retains a massive database of information related to its 1972 voter fraud investigation.

1968 Elections

Conway County, AR--Sheriff Marlin Hawkins, Deputy Cecil Jackson

A box full of 78 ballots along with 200 marked forged ballots from the 1968 Democratic primary election were found in the home of Conway County, AR's former deputy sheriff, Cecil Jackson, providing evidence of substantial election fraud. The former sheriff boasted about how he stole elections, and even wrote a 1991 book explaining how he did it; "How I Stole Elections" by Marlin Hawkins. The ballots show that in the case of the race for 5th Judicial District Prosecutor, if not for the election fraud, there would have been a different election outcome.

“ "The ballots each were for several different races. One was for the office of 5th Judicial District prosecutor. Robert E. 'Doc' Irwin, who was challenging incumbent Jeff Mobley, said he lost the election by 23 votes. Seventy-eight of the newly found ballots apparently were real votes, and a count of them shows Irwin would have won the election by nine votes, he said... Hawkins boasted Wednesday that during his heyday his political organization could predict the outcome of every election in the county. But he also said he only 'stole' elections by 'treating my neighbors right.'... Ms. Paladino, the county clerk, said apparently someone marked the ballots and planned to put them in a ballot box after removing genuine ballots cast in the July 30, 1968, primary. The same voting pattern was evident on 122 of the ballots. Some still had stubs that, under state law, were normally separated from the ballot when a person voted. Seventy-eight other ballots were missing stubs. Irwin, the unsuccessful candidate for prosecutor, believes they were actual votes illegally removed from the ballot box before the official count. Irwin lost his challenge to Mobley by a final count of 13,983 to 13,960. Officials denied him a recount after the primary. The other 122 ballots - all containing votes for Mobley, as well as candidates for other offices - were prepared, but not used, by the people who apparently rigged the election, Irwin said. 'They stuffed the box with enough ballots to where they didn’t have to use the other 122,' Irwin said."

-James Jefferson, Associated Press

”

1960 Election

IL--President John F. Kennedy

It is commonly acknowledged that John F. Kennedy operatives committed voter fraud in the 1960 elections to help him beat Richard Nixon. An investigation of Illinois vote-counting revealed that Nixon's votes had been undercounted by 943 votes. In 1962, election workers in Chicago's 28th ward confessed to witness tampering, resulting in guilty pleas and jail sentences for three election workers.

“ "Illinois state special prosecutor Morris Wexler, named to investigate charges of election fraud in Chicago, indicted 677 election officials, but couldn't nail down convictions with state Judge John Karns. It wasn't until 1962, when an election worker confessed to witness tampering in Chicago's 28th Ward, that three precinct workers pleaded guilty and served jail sentences. Pulitzer-winning journalist Seymour Hersh reported hearing tapes of FBI wiretaps about potential election fraud. Hersh—whose books indicate he is a fan of neither Kennedy nor Nixon—believed Nixon was the rightful winner."

-Fred Lucas, Newsweek

”

1955 Elections

South Houston, TX--Mayor G.R. Oliphint

“ "The number of votes cast in this manner for the office of mayor totaled 1,020 votes, of which Mr. Oliphint received 512 votes, and Mr. Christy received 508 votes, a margin of four votes in favor of Mr. Oliphint. Mr. Christy offered conclusive proof that ten of the electors who voted for the office of mayor were not legally qualified as electors. After establishing the illegality of the votes cast by such electors, Mr. Christy undertook to interrogate such electors on the witness stand as to the candidate for whom they cast their ballots. Three of these electors answered that they voted for Mr. Oliphint... It is our belief that Mr. Christy made an adequate showing that each of the ten electors challenged were illegal voters. The votes cast by the illegal electors are not to be counted in the final results. It is therefore necessary to show for whom these illegal electors voted. Although the voting machines used in this election tabulate the total votes for each respective candidate, they make no record showing which candidate each elector voted for. Therefore, the only possible method to ascertain how an elector voted is to put him on the witness stand and ask him how he voted."

-Justice Smith, Oliphint v. Christy (1957

”

1948 Elections

Lyndon B. Johnson's 'Box 13' Scandal

Governor Connally, who was with John F. Kennedy in the limousine when he was shot, was the campaign manager for Lyndon B. Johnson on a number of his campaigns, including Johnson's 1941 and 1948 campaigns. In the 1948 'Box 13 Scandal,' Connally oversaw the controversial Precinct 13 results which showed numerous signs of voter fraud, with the signatures for Johnson in the same handwriting, signed in the same ink, and in alphabetical order. Nonetheless, Johnson would go on to win the election.

1941 Elections

TX--Senator Lyndon B. Johnson

“ "In 1941, LBJ very likely out-polled his primary opponent in a special Senate election, only to see his political enemies steal the election in a classic case of ballot-box stuffing that dragged on for days on end. Seven years later, Johnson returned the favor in what was almost certainly a rigged election. Days after the election, officials in Precinct 13, Jim Wells county, discovered 200 uncounted votes, cast by voters who mysteriously signed in by alphabetical order, all in the same handwriting. It was the most egregious example of widespread, systematic fraud, most pronounced in counties under the thumb of Johnson’s political ally, George Parr. Caro has argued convincingly that Johnson’s team won by dubious means."

-Josh Zeitz, Politico

”

1946 Elections

AR--Governor Bryan Sims, County Sheriff Marlin Hawkins

Sheriff Marlin Hawkins (D-AR) in his 1991 book, "How I Stole Election," admits that he forged 100 ballots for the 1946 gubernatorial race his friend Bryan Sims was running in. Hawkins also held other county positions as well during his lengthy political career from 1934-78, including circuit clerk, chancery clerk, and county treasurer.

“ "The discovery coincided with the publication of a book, 'How I Stole Elections,' by Marlin Hawkins, the Conway County sheriff and the tax collector from 1950 to 1978... He admits in his book that he forged 100 ballots in 1946 for a friend who was running for governor, Bryan Sims, who lost. 'I regret it to this day,' Mr. Hawkins wrote."

-New York Times

”

1939 Elections

Coral Cables, FL--Absentee Ballots Disqualified, New Election

The 1939 Coral Cables election result was overturned, in which Hollis Rinehart Jr. was initially leading Joe Whitley by 839-838 votes, given the finding that numerous out-of-state voters had voted illegally via absentee ballot. Numerous lawsuits were involved, including State Ex. Rel Whitley v. Rinehart (1939),, State Ex. Bell v. Rinehart (1939), Rinehart v. State Ex. Rel. (1941), and Rinehart v. State Ex. Rel. Bel. (1941).

“ "As we shall subsequently show, each and every vote cast under Chapter 16986, Acts of 1935, was illegal and void and it may be that some of those cast under the latter Act were void for failure to comply with legal requirements. We do not depart from the rule that when the illegal votes can be determined, they will not void the election but in a case like this where only one vote separates the contestants and it is proven that illegal votes sufficient to affect the result were cast and the winning party profited by the doubtful or illegal vote, when as here, that vote can be segregated from the legal vote, the election as to it should be held illegal and void."

-Justice Terrell, State Ex Rel. Whitley v. Rinehart

”

1936 Elections

Kansas City, KS--Tom Pendergast, 242 Others

The FBI arrested 242 people for voter fraud in connection with Democrat Tom Pendergast's political machine from 1937-38, and Pendergast himself would ultimately be convicted for tax evasion charges.

External Sources

• Heritage Institute (2019), "A Sampling of Election Fraud Cases from Across the County," WhiteHouse.gov.
• Catherine Engelbrecht (2019), "Election Crimes Database," True the Vote.
• "Election Fraud Cases," Heritage Institute.
• Mary F. Berry (2016), "Five Dollars and a Pork Chop Sandwich: Vote Buying and the Corruption of Democracy," Boston: Beacon Press.
• Dana Beyerle (2002), "Alabama Not Rid of Voter Fraud," Tuscaloosa News.
• (2011), "Absentee Ballot Fraud Has Long History in Bridgeport," Connecticut Post.
• Vote Fraud Investigation Task Force (1972), "Deception for Journalism's Sake: A Database," Chicago Tribune.