Michael Zore was convicted of voting twice in the November 2006 election. Zore voted in two Milwaukee-area towns, Wauwatosa and West Allis. Zore claimed his double voting was due to a memory lapse, but a judge sentenced him to serve a year in the Milwaukee County House of Correction. Wisconsin. 2007. Duplicate Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Kimberly Prude, a campaign volunteer for the Kerry_Edwards campaign, was convicted of illegally casting an absentee ballot in the 2004 election. She was already a convicted felon for forgery charges in 2000. Her probation was revoked and she is now serving her sentence in prison. Wisconsin. 2007. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Ineligible Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Kendra Lynn Thill, a former canvasser for ACORN, pleaded guilty to voter registration fraud committed in the 2006 election. She was given a 12-month deferred sentence. Washington. 2007. False Registrations. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Tina Johnson and Jayson Woods pleaded guilty to eight counts each of registration fraud. Each were sentenced to 120 days of jail, or 15 days for each count. Washington. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Ryan Olson pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court to two felony counts of providing false information on a voter-registration application. Court Commissioner Kenneth Comstock sentenced him to 30 days in jail or in electronic home detention. Washington. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
ACORN workers in Seattle committed what the Secretary of State labeled as the worst case of voter registration fraud in Washington’s history. When ACORN’s national office threatened to shut down the group’s local office, Clifton Mitchell and his team began using fake names, addresses, birthdays, and social security numbers in order to meet their voter registration quotas. In a candid interview with CNN following his conviction, Clifton relayed how he and his fellow ACORN co-workers would take addresses from homeless shelters or use baby books and phone books to generate fake information. In total, the group submitted 1,762 fraudulent voter registration forms. Mitchell was convicted of false registrations and served nearly three months in jail. Four other ACORN workers on his team also received jail time. Additionally, prosecutors ordered ACORN to increase its oversight under threat of prosecution and fined the organization $25,000 to cover the cost of the investigation. Washington. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Former Appalachia mayor Ben Cooper and 14 others were convicted of voter fraud after conspiring to manipulate the 2004 elections in his town by buying the votes of residents, offering them cigarettes, beer, and pork rinds. He and his supporters also stole absentee ballots from the mail. This was the largest voter fraud conspiracy to date in Virginia. Cooper was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but the term was suspended after he served two years in jail and another two years in electronic home monitoring detention. Most of the other 14 defendants received suspended sentences or house arrest. Virginia. 2007. Buying Votes. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Raymond Villarreal, the then-County Commissioner of Refugio, pleaded guilty to charges related to a scheme to rig the absentee vote in his favor during his 2006 primary race for commissioner. Villarreal first had registered voters request absentee ballots, but then routed the ballots to known supporters who would vote for Villarreal. He then had the original applicants sign the ballots. He was sentenced to 90 days in the county jail and given five years of probation. He was also ordered to complete 300 hours of community service and pay $2,500 in fines. Villarreal was forced to resign. Texas. 2007. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
A former Port Lavaca city councilwoman was sentenced to five years in prison for registering non-citizens to vote and tampering with government documents. During the trial, she acknowledged that she did not ask registrants about their citizenship, nor did she inform them that only United States citizens are eligible to vote. Illegal voting is a third-degree felony. Texas. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Vancey Voorhies, a former volunteer poll worker, entered a pre-trial diversion program after being indicted on four charges: Illegal Registration/Voting, False Entries, Violation by an Official, and Official Misconduct. Voorhies completed and submitted a ballot for her cousin, in violation of state law. Tennessee. 2007. Illegal “Assistance” at the Polls. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Verline Mayo, Gertrude Otteridge, and Mary McClatcher pleaded guilty to felony and misdemeanor voter fraud charges after admitting that, while acting as poll workers, they conspired to cast at least three falsified votes–two of them in the name of deceased voters–as part of a scheme to favor State Senate candidate Ophelia Ford. Ford won the 2005 election by only 13 votes, but the result was thrown out by the Senate citing the fraudulent votes. Mayo received two years’ probation, $1,000 in fines and 200 hours of community service. Otteridge and McClatcher were sentenced to one year of probation plus fines and community service. Tennessee. 2007. Miscellaneous. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Rachelle Zimmerman, of Hardin County, pleaded guilty to one county of felony election fraud. She was sentenced to two years’ community control and ordered to pay a $50 fine and court costs. Ohio. 2007. Miscellaneous. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Melissa Sparks, of Springfield, pleaded guilty to three felony charges of election fraud. She was sentenced to five years’ community control and fined $250. Ohio. 2007. Miscellaneous. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Katherine Morrow, of Jackson, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in Ohio court to two felony counts of election fraud. She was sentenced to five years’ community control and ordered to pay a $500 fine and court costs. Ohio. 2007. Miscellaneous. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following a jury trial, Jacqueline Maiden, the elections coordinator of the Cuyahoga County Elections Board, and ballot manager Kathleen Dreamer were convicted of negligent misconduct and failure to perform their duties in connection with a 2004 presidential election recount. Each was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. In an effort to save time, the pair rigged the recount by pre-selecting for review by election officials ballots that they knew would not raise issues. Their efforts did not alter the results of the presidential election. Ohio. 2007. Miscellaneous. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Claudel Gilbert, a Haitian immigrant, pleaded guilty to voting twice in the 2006 elections. Gilbert received a suspended six-month prison sentence, one year probation, and $500 in fines. Ohio. 2007. Duplicate Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following a jury trial, Charles and Jerolynn Worrell were found guilty of illegal voting for falsely registering and voting. The pair indicated that they lived at a Summit County address where they did not reside. They received a sentence of six months’ incarceration, suspended upon completion of one year of community control and other sanctions. Ohio. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Kwaim Stenson, a registration recruiter employed by ACORN, pleaded guilty to a count of submitting a false voter registration application to the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. Stenson was sentenced to four months and five days’ imprisonment. Missouri. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Dale Franklin and Brian Gardiner, voter registration recruiters for ACORN prior to the 2006 election, pleaded guilty to election fraud, after forging the signature of an applicant and submitting it to the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. Both men were sentenced to probation. Missouri. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Carmen Davis, who also goes by the name of Latisha Reed and who worked for the community organizing group, ACORN, pleaded guilty to voter registration fraud in Kansas City for filing false paperwork. Davis was sentenced to 120 days in a halfway house. Missouri. 2007. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary