Darryl Cates, of Westville, entered a plea of nolo contendere to charges of false notarization of absentee ballots. The charges stemmed from the 2009 Cave Springs School District election, in which 33 ballots were disputed based on inconsistencies between the signatures on ballot request forms and voter affidavits. All of the contested ballots were notarized […]
Roger Schantz pleaded guilty to two counts of illegal voting. Though registered in South Carolina, he also registered in Ohio and voted in both states in 2008 and 2010. He was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment in an Ohio corrections center, as well one year under community control, and was fined $500.
Brenda Griffin, of Dayton, was convicted of 18 felony charges of election falsifications, filing false petitions, and forging signatures relating to a liquor license ballot initiative. Griffin, the leading petition circulator for the liquor license, turned in 320 petition signatures, despite only 109 signatures being required. The fraud was discovered when the County Board of […]
Horace Crawford pleaded guilty to a charge of election falsification after he forged signatures on a petition to enter his name on the 2012 Democrat primary ballot for the 10th congressional district. The Montgomery County Board of Elections determined only seven signatures were valid and disqualified him from running for office. Crawford was sentenced to […]
Debra Ortutay, former Rockland County Independence Party chairwoman, pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges in relation to fraudulent petition signatures and perjury before a grand jury. She had signed ballot petitions multiple times and falsely claimed that she had witnessed voters signing them. Ortutay was sentenced to four months in jail and five years’ probation.
Priscilla Morales, the public works director’s in Sunland Park, but an El Paso resident, registered to vote in Doa Ana County, and voted in Sunland Park’s municipal elections by using former City Councilor Angelica Marquez’s home address. She pleaded guilty to false voting and conspiracy to commit a crime. She was sentenced to 18 months […]
John Fernandez, who worked for the Essex County Department of Economic Development, was convicted of election fraud, absentee ballot fraud, and forgery. Fernandez submitted phony absentee ballots while he was working on the 2007 election campaign of state Sen. Teresa Ruiz. Fernandez’s scheme involved messenger ballots, which are used by voters home-bound by illness or […]