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

During a 2006 ballot measure, Diana Clagett submitted three signature sheets that contained 27 “questionable signatures” that either belonged to unregistered voters or did not match the signatures on voter registration cards. A Multnomah County grand jury indicted Clagett on two counts of making false statements. She subsequently pleaded guilty to one felony count and was placed on probation. Oregon. 2006. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary

Paul Frankel and his accomplice, James Gurga, used a “bait and switch” technique. They had a fake petition that called for lowering gas taxes which they kept on the top of their clipboards at Lloyd Center Mall in Portland. After people signed it, they would tell them that they had to “verify” their signature by signing all the pages underneath. What the signers didn’t know is that they had fooled them into unwittingly signing real petitions. Frankel and Gurga pleaded guilty to fraud charges and election law violations. Oregon. 2001. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary