Timothy Metz, a candidate for the Morgantown City Council, falsified 21 signatures of voters for his nomination petition, including one deceased person. He pleaded guilty to one count of falsely filing a certification of nomination and was sentenced as part of his plea agreement to a pre-trial diversion program with a 24 month period of supervised probation. West Virginia. 2021. Ballot Petition Fraud. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Lauren C. Peabody, of Virginia Beach, worked as a campaign staffer for the GOP candidate in the 2nd Congressional District of VA. In that role, she signed off on petition signatures, that she did not witness, to get Shaun Brown, a Democrat, on the ballot as an Independent in order to take away votes from the Democratic nominee (her boss’s main opponent). The signatures were forgeries of deceased individuals and former residents. She was charged with two counts of election fraud and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of “willful neglect of election duty.” She received a 12-month suspended sentence based on a year of good behavior and was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine. Virginia. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Richard Howard was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of subscribing a fictitious name, or the name of another to an initiative petition and registration of a fictitious person. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of three years and three years of probation. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Buying Votes. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Norman Hall, of Los Angeles, participated in scheme to give homeless people on Skid Row cash and cigarettes in exchange for fraudulently signing ballot petition initiatives and filling out voter registration forms. These crimes took place during both the 2016 and 2018 election cycles. Hall was charged with circulating a petition with false names, and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 1 year in county jail, 3 years of probation, and was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Nickey Huntley was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of circulating an initiative or petition containing false, forged or fictitious names. Huntley was sentenced to 3 years’ probation. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Buying Votes. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Louis Wise was involved in a scheme that offered cigarettes and money to homeless people on Skid Row in exchange for fake signatures on ballot initiatives and voter registration forms. This resulted in hundreds of fraudulent signatures. He pleaded no contest to one felony count of subscribing a fictitious name, or the name of another to an initiative petition and registration of a fictitious person. He was sentenced to a suspended sentence of 16 months in state prison and three years of formal probation. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Buying Votes. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Jentry Jasperson, of Pacifica, forged signatures for a referendum iniative and paid a $5 fee per signature. She was reported to have forged over 100 signatures, most of which were actual country residents. Peterson was charged with 10 counts of perjury by declaration, 5 counts of identity theft, and 5 counts of signing fictious or forged names to a petition. She pleaded guilty to 2 counts of perjury by declaration, a felony, and was sentenced to 2 years in county jail. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Bradley Jasperson, of Pacifica, forged signatures for a referendum initiative and was paid a $5 fee per signature. He was reported to have forged over 100 signatures, most of which were actual country residents. Peterson was charged with 10 counts of perjury by declaration, 5 counts of identity theft, and 5 counts of signing of fictious or forged name to petition. He pleaded guilty to 2 counts of perjury by declaration, a felony, and was sentenced to 2 years in county jail. California. 2020. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Simone Marie Thrasher, of Salem, made a series of false statements while acting as a petition circulator in the run-up to the 2016 election. Thrasher, who was gathering signatures on petitions for two proposed state laws, stole multiple peoples’ identities and committed other fraudulent acts. She was charged with 35 separate offenses: 14 counts of making a false statement, oath, or affidavit, 11 counts of aggravated identity theft, and 10 counts of identity theft. She pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement, oath, or affidavit, and 4 counts of aggravated identity theft. She was sentenced to serve 80 days in jail with credit for time served, placed on two years of supervised probation, and was ordered to pay $1000 in fines. Oregon. 2019. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Peggy West, a former Milwaukee county supervisor, submitted false signatures on a petition to place her on the ballot for the spring 2018 election. According to the complaint filed against her, West forged the signatures of multiple residents within her district, and used a third party to collect other signatures despite the legal requirement that she collect them herself. She later falsely attested to have done so. West pleaded guilty to a charge of election fraud, and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a $2,500 fine. Wisconsin. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Shaun Brown, a candidate for the Virginia 2nd Congressional District, was removed from the ballot in the lead-up to the 2018 election after a judge ruled that signatures on the petition to get her on the ballot had been forged. Brown, who ran and lost as a Democrat in 2016, was running as an Independent. Democrats in Virginia filed the suit against Brown, claiming that Republican incumbent Representative Scott Taylor’s campaign hoped to get Brown on the ballot to bolster Taylor’s own re-election chances. All of the petition signatures submitted by Taylor’s staff were thrown out due to errors and forgeries. Brown appealed, but the Virginia Supreme Court upheld her removal from the ballot. An investigation into the alleged forgeries by Taylor campaign staff is ongoing. In the midst of the election drama, Brown was convicted on unrelated charges that she defrauded a federal program intended to serve summer meals to children. Virginia. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Judicial Finding. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Russ Casey, a Texas Justice of the Peace, submitted false signatures in order to ensure his place on the Republican primary ballot during his 2018 reelection campaign. Casey withdrew and resigned following the revelation that he had falsified multiple petition signatures and falsely attested to having witnessed the signatures. Casey pleaded guilty to a charge of tampering with a government record, and received a suspended two-year prison sentence and five years of probation. Texas. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Chris Strough and her husband, Queensbury Supervisor John Strough, violated state election law while obtaining signatures on a petition to get John Strough on the Conservative Party primary ballot. John Strough, a Democrat, was required by law to have a notary present for each signature he obtained because he was targeting voters outside of his own party. His wife, a notary public, claimed to have witnessed each signature and read the signer an oath to swear. However, investigators determined she actually remained in the car for many signatures and did not interact with voters. As part of a plea deal, Chris Strough pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, was fined $200, and gave up her notary license, while charges against John Strough will be dismissed pending six months of good behavior. Maryland. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Thomas Rudd, a former coroner in Lake County, Illinois, was charged with five felony counts of perjury for making false statements on nominating petitions for his 2016 re-election. Rudd signed the petitions, falsely indicating he had been personally present when voters signed them, and later made the same claim under oath. Prosecutors alleged that 15-20 petition signatures were falsified, including one in the name of a person who had been dead for over 10 years. The felony charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal, and Rudd pleaded guilty to five misdemeanor charges of disregard of the election code. He was given 24 months of probation, ordered to pay two $5,000 fines, and was barred from public employment for five years. Illinois. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
During her 2017 campaign for the High School District 128 board, Ellen Mauer signed four nomination petitions to be placed on the ballot as a candidate, falsely claiming she was present when voters signed them. Mauer initially faced felony perjury charges, but a plea deal saw those charges reduced to misdemeanor counts of disregard of the election code. Mauer pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, and was ordered to complete 75 hours of public service, pay a $750 fine, and make a $250 donation to the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center. Illinois. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Denise Zwit, assistant to the High School District 128 Superintendant, signed three nomination petitions for school board president Patrick Groody, falsely claiming she was present when voters signed them. Zwit initially faced felony perjury charges, but a plea deal saw those charges reduced to misdemeanor counts of disregard of the election code. Zwit pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, and was ordered to complete 75 hours of public service, pay a $750 fine, and make a $250 donation to the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center. Illinois. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Richard Howard offered homeless people cash and cigarettes in exchange for forging signatures on official petitions using the names and addresses of actual registered voters, in order to qualify several ballot measures. Howard and several others were arrested during an undercover operation. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 60 days in jail and 3 years of probation. California. 2018. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Renaldo Johnson of Las Vegas pleaded guilty to one felony offense for submitting a falsified petition. Johnson was indicted on multiple charges related to submitting fake ballot signatures to have Jill Stein, a Green Party presidential candidate, on the state’s ballot. Johnson awaits sentencing. Nevada. 2017. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Danny Williams, of Boone County, Missouri, pleaded guilty to three felony counts of forgery. He falsified 114 signatures on 40 ballot petitions advocating that a proposal regarding early voting be placed on the ballot. Williams was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment (suspended) and five years’ probation. Missouri. 2017. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
While working for Black Diamond Outreach, a Denver-based community outreach organization, Maureen Marie Moss forged 34 signatures on petitions she was circulating to get U.S. Senate candidate Jon Keyser on the ballot for the June 2016 primary. Moss ultimately pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to four years’ probation on each count. She was also ordered to complete 250 hours of community service. Colorado. 2017. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary