Marlena Jackson, wife of Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor election fraud. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Jackson’s husband Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from two paid campaign workers and Jackson to increase the ballots in Brown’s favor. Jackson working with Brown and his crew, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Marlena was originally charged with close to 100 different felony charges including providing false information on a voting application, election fraud, and tampering with a government record with the intent to defraud or harm. Jackson was sentenced to a year’s probation and a $2,445 fine. Texas. 2022. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
DeWayne Ward, campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme during the 2018 Longview City Council Democratic primary election. During that election, Shannon Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife, Marlena Jackson, Ward, and Charlie Burns Jr. another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote tally in Brown’s favor. Ward, working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Ward was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year’s probation, and fined $445. Texas. 2022. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Charlie Burns Jr., campaign worker for Gregg County Commissioner Shannon Brown, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly possessing an absentee ballot with intent to defraud for his involvement in a ballot harvesting scheme. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City council election, Shannon Brown participated in a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from his wife Marlena Jackson, Burns, and DeWayne Ward, another paid campaign worker, to increase the vote total for Brown. Burns working with Brown, Jackson, and another campaign worker, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, providing incorrect information to voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filing out the ballots and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Burns was sentenced to one year in jail, which was suspended to a year’s probation, and fined $445. Texas. 2022. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Tracey Kay McKee, of Scottsdale, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of illegal voting and one count of perjury. McKee, a registered Republican, cast a ballot in the name of her deceased mother in the 2020 general election. She pleaded guilty to one count of illegal voting, a felony, and will be sentenced in March. Arizona. 2022. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Ineligible Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Shannon Brown, Commissioner of Gregg County, Texas pleaded guilty to charges of misdemeanor election fraud and record tampering. During the 2018 Democratic primary Longview City Council election, Brown organized a scheme to harvest absentee ballots with help from two paid campaign workers and his wife to increase the votes in his favor. Brown, along with his crew, solicited over a hundred mail-in ballots by assisting with absentee ballot applications, misleading voters about the requirements for voting by mail, and in some cases filling out the applications and falsely claiming that such voters were disabled, often without their knowledge or consent. Brown was originally charged with over 20 felony charges related to providing false information on voting applications. As part of his plea deal, Brown was sentenced to one year in jail which was suspended to a year’s probation and fined $2,445. Brown was allowed to stay in office. Texas. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Registered Republican Robert Richard Lynn was charged with a third-class misdemeanor for using his deceased mother’s credentials to cast an absentee ballot for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. He was sentenced to six months probation and 40 hours of community service. Pennsylvania. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Pennsylvania. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Edward Snodgrass, a registered Republican and a Porter Township Trustee, was charged with one felony count of illegal voting after submitting an absentee ballot on behalf of his deceased father in the 2020 General Election. As part of his plea deal, Snodgrass pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of falsification, was sentenced to three days in jail, and fined $500. Ohio. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Impersonation Fraud at the Polls. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Donald Hartle was charged with two felonies for voting twice in the 2020 general election, once under his own name and a second time via absentee ballot using his deceased wife’s name. Hartle pleaded guilty to one count of “voting more than once at same election,” a Class D felony. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Hartle was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $2,000. If he successfully completes probation, Hartle will be permitted to withdraw his guilty plea to the felony offense and enter a guilty plea to “conspiracy to commit voting more than once at same election,” a gross misdemeanor. Nevada. 2021. Duplicate Voting. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Paul Parana of Canton was charged with impersonating a voter after he forged his daughter’s signature on an absentee ballot in 2020 General Election. He pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor election law violation, was sentenced to 90 days’ probation, and ordered to pay $1,100 in fines and court costs. Michigan. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Caesar Abutin, of Norwalk, voted under the name of his deceased mother three times between 2012 and 2014. He was charged with one count of impersonating another voter, one count of fraudulently requesting an absentee ballot, and one count of fraudulent voting, all felony charges. He entered a diversion program with supervised probation for 12 months and ordered to perform 40 hours of community service. If he successfully completes the program, the charges against him will be dismissed. California. 2021. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Laura Seeds, of Espanola, conspired with Dyon Herrera to falsify several absentee ballots in favor of Seeds’ husband, a city councilman who was running for mayor in 2016. Seeds was charged with two counts of making false statements relative to the municipal election code, one count of conspiracy to violate the municipal election code, and ten counts of possession of another person’s absentee ballot. Seeds was found guilty of two counts of making false statements relative to the municipal election code and two counts of possession of another person’s absentee ballot, which are all fourth degree felonies. She was sentenced to six months of house arrest, followed by five years of supervised probation. New Mexico. 2020. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Dyon Hererra, of Espanola, conspired with Laura Seeds to falsify absentee ballots in support of Seeds’ husband’s candidacy for mayor in 2016. Hererra forged the signatures of his grandparents on absentee ballots. The candidate that he casted the ballots in favor of won the race by two votes. Herrera was charged with conspiracy to violate the municipal election code of Espanola, a fourth degree felony, and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. New Mexico. 2020. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
The May 2020 election for the Third Ward Paterson City Council was overturned by Superior Court Judge Ernest M. Caposela because of what he called “mail in vote procedural violations”. The Passaic County Board of Elections became aware of potential absentee ballots that were improperly cast and handled. Of all ballots cast in the election, 24.29% were rejected. Ballots were rejected because signatures did not match and sections on the ballot designating that someone other than the voter was handling the ballot were left unfilled. A substantial number of ballots were left on the floor of an apartment building, while approximately two hundred uncounted mail-in ballots were found in a postal box located in the adjacent township. Shortly after the election results were tabulated, evidence emerged about an absentee ballot trafficking scheme involving at least four individuals, including two members running for City Council. Candidate Alex Mendez, current councilman Michael Jackson, Shelim Khalique, and Abu Razyen have now been charged with various felonies related to the alleged scheme. The judge ordered a new special election which was held in November 2020. Alex Mendez won by a nine-vote margin, despite the criminal voter fraud charges that are pending against him. New Jersey. 2020. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Judicial Finding. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
William Rojas, of Hoboken, acted illegally by attempting to bribe voters with $50 to send in mail-in ballots to support a candidate for a seat on the Hoboken City Council during the 2015 Hoboken municipal election. Rojas was charged with and pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring with others to use the mail to promote a voter bribery scheme. He was sentenced to one year of probation. New Jersey. 2020. Buying Votes. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Randy Allen Jumper voted twice in the 2016 general election. He voted by absentee ballot in Arizona and again by absentee ballot in Nevada. He pleaded guilty to attempted illegal voting, a class 6 felony. He was sentenced to two years probation, fined $5,000, and is barred from voting in Arizona. Arizona. 2020. Duplicate Voting. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Charles Nathan Jackson, of Tarrant County, forged the name of a stranger, Mardene Hickerson, on an application for an early voting ballot. Jackson pleaded guilty to providing false information on a voting application, a felony, as part of a plea deal to avoid an enhancement for previous drug and theft offenses. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail, and was given credit for time already served. Texas. 2019. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Harry Maxwell, of Delaware County, was charged with absentee ballot fraud. In his confession, Maxwell said that he would pick up “girls” and get them to sign absentee ballots in the names of deceased indivduals. He pleaded guilty to one count of forgery, one count of false use of an absentee ballot, and two counts of criminal conspiracy, and was sentenced to two years’ probation and ordered to pay $500 in fines. Pennsylvania. 2019. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Marjory Gale, of Hood River, voted twice in the 2016 election, once for herself and once for her daughter. Both votes were cast by absentee ballot. Gale pleaded guilty to a violation, and was ordered to pay a $750 fine. Oregon. 2019. Duplicate Voting. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Grace Fleming Jr., a registered Republican of Hampton, cast an absentee ballot in Hampton for the 2016 general election after having already cast an in-person ballot in Belchertown, MA. She was charged with voting in more than one state and pleaded guilty to the Class B felony charge. She was sentenced to a 60-day suspended sentence based on a year of good behavior, ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, assessed an additional $240 fee, and lost the right to vote in all future New Hampshire elections. North Carolina. 2019. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Official Finding. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary