Valerie Moran, of Merrimac, pleaded no contest to a charge of illegal voting in the 2014 general election. Moran, a convicted felon, voted despite still being on probation and therefore ineligible to cast a ballot. She was sentenced to 20 days’ imprisonment. Wisconsin. 2015. Ineligible Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
John S. Rohde was charged with falsifying statements on voter registration forms after voting twice in the November 2014 election. Rohde cast ballots in the towns of Beaver Dam and Calamus, using the address of a woman who had a no-contact order against him. Rohde was, in fact, living with his sister in the town of Horicon, and claimed that because he had recently moved, he had gone to the wrong polling place, and, after voting there, then had proceeded to the correct one, where he voted again. Rohde was convicted in Dodge County Circuit Court by Judge Brian Pfitzinger and was ordered to pay court costs and serve 40 hours of community service. Wisconsin. 2015. Duplicate Voting. False Registrations. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Andrew R. Knox voted in the 2010 election despite his status as a convicted felon. On March 11, 2015, Knox pleaded guilty to misdemeanor falsification of voter registry information. Knox had to pay fines amounting to $379, but received no jail time. Wisconsin. 2015. Ineligible Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office, Vicenta Guajardo Verino was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. After admitting that he provided illegal ‘assistance’ at the polls, Verino entered into a deferred adjudication agreement. She was required to complete 12 months’ supervised probation and ordered to pay a fine of $250. Texas. 2015. Illegal “Assistance” at the Polls. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Tamara Scotch and her husband, Michael, of Edwards County, voted in a district other than the one in which they resided in a 2013 municipal election. The Scotches both falsely listed their residence as being in Rocksprings, and voted there, despite not living in the city. Tamara was charged with two counts of illegal voting and two counts of tampering with a government record. Tamara pleaded no contest to illegal voting in exchange for the state dropping the other charges. She was sentenced to 24 months’ deferred adjudication during which she was on community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine. Texas. 2015. Ineligible Voting. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Michael Scotch and his wife, Tamara, of Edwards County, voted in a district other than the one in which they resided in a 2013 municipal election. The Scotches both falsely listed their residence as being in Rocksprings, and voted there, despite not living in the city. Michael was charged with two counts of illegal voting and two counts of tampering with a government record. Michael pleaded guilty to illegal voting in exchange for the state dropping the other charges. He was sentenced to 24 months’ deferred adjudication during which he was on community supervision, and was ordered to pay a $500 fine. Texas. 2015. False Registrations. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Hazel Woodard, a Democratic Precinct Chairwoman candidate in Fort Worth, was concerned that her husband would not make it to the polls to vote, so she had her teenage son vote for him. The impersonation went undetected until the husband went to the polls later that day and tried to cast a second ballot in his name. Hazel was indicted for impersonation fraud at the polls, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to two years of deferred adjudication probation. Texas. 2015. Impersonation Fraud at the Polls. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Bernice Garcia, of Cameron County, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary run-off election. Garcia faced three misdemeanor charges for unlawful voter assistance, unlawful method of returning a marked ballot, and unlawful possession of another’s ballot. Garcia entered a conditional plea and was given a one year Deferred Prosecution Contract for the offense of unlawfully assisting a voter. Texas. 2015. Illegal “Assistance” at the Polls. Diversion Program. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office, Tomasa Ramirez Chavez was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. She pleaded guilty to illegal “assistance” at the polls and was sentenced to a suspended sentence of six months’ jail time and required to complete one year community supervision and to pay a $250 fine. Texas. 2015. Illegal “Assistance” at the Polls. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Rafael Angel Elizondo, of Cameron County, along with Jose Garza, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary run-off. Elizondo improperly posessed between 10 and 20 ballots without the consent of the voters. Elizondo faced a third degree felony method of returning marked ballot charge. He pleaded no contest to the charge and was sentenced to serve three days in county jail. Texas. 2015. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office, Margarita Rangel Ozuna was charged with engaging in election fraud, along with five others during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff election in Cameron County. Ozuna pleaded guilty to charges of fraudulent use of absentee ballots and was sentenced to serve 15 days in Cameron County jail and required to pay a $250 fine. This was the second time that Ozuna was convicted of voter fraud. In 2013, she was convicted of felony voter fraud stemming from the 2010 election. Texas. 2015. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Jose Angel Garcia, of Cameron County, along with Rafael Angel Elizondo, engaged in illegal vote harvesting during the 2012 Democratic Primary runoff. Garza improperly possessed as many as 10 ballots without the consent of the voters. Garza faced five felony counts of method of returning marked ballot. He pleaded guilty to one of those charges and was sentenced to serve two days in county jail. Texas. 2015. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
In the Donna School Board race, four campaign workers participated in a scheme that involved buying votes with cocaine, cash, beer, and cigarettes. All four pleaded guilty; Garcia received an 18-month sentence, and Castaneda received an eight-month sentence with credit for cooperating against her co-defendants. Texas. 2015. Buying Votes. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Following an investigation by the Texas Attorney General’s office, Facunda Garcia was charged along with five others, for illegal assistance at the polls during the 2012 Democratic primary runoff election in Cameron County. She pleaded guilty to filling out the ballot for a female voter without that voter’s direction to do so. Garcia was sentenced to three days in jail, but was given credit for time served; court costs and fees were waived. Texas. 2015. Illegal “Assistance” at the Polls. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Benito Aranda Jr., who was ineligible to vote due to a prior felony conviction, voted illegally in a 2012 primary election. Aranda pled guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, probated to 10 years of community supervision. Texas. 2015. Ineligible Voting. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Avery Ayers, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, forged signatures on a petition for candidacy in the 2014 General Election race in Texas. Ayers pled guilty to one count of third degree felony forgery and was sentenced to five years in prison. Texas. 2015. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Janice Howe pleaded guilty to a charge of perjury stemming from Howe’s 1999 forgery of petition signatures. At the time, Howe indicated she had witnessed voters sign their names to the petition. Though she was formally charged in 2002, she was not arrested until 2015. She received a suspended four-year prison sentence and was given four years of probation. South Dakota. 2015. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Clayton Walker, a former U.S. Senate candidate, pleaded guilty to one count of offering a false or forged instrument for filing and one count of perjury, both of which are Class 6 felonies. Walker submitted 3,374 signatures on a nominating petition to gain placement on the ballot as an Independent; half of those signatures were subsequently determined to be invalid. After pleading guilty, Walker received two concurrent two-year sentences, with both suspended pending good behavior. Walker was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service with two years of probation and was required to receive a mental health evaluation. South Dakota. 2015. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Annette Bosworth, a doctor in Sioux Falls, challenged former Governor Mike Rounds for one of South Dakota’s U.S. Senate seats in the 2014 Republican primary. She lost, but upon review of her petition, officials discovered that six of the petitions she submitted to the Secretary of State’s office contained discrepancies. Bosworth was out of the country on a medical-aid mission trip in the Philippines when her campaign manager, Mike Davis, collected the signatures and filed them on her behalf. However, South Dakota law requires candidates to personally witness each signature on the circulating petition. Additionally, when she signed off on each of the six petitions, she verified that she had personally witnessed the signatures. She was originally charged with six counts of felony perjury, but the charges were later reduced and she was found guilty of offering false or forged instruments for filing. Bosworth was sentenced to 500 hours of community service and parole. South Dakota. 2015. Ballot Petition Fraud. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary
Eugene Gallagher pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges in connection with the November 2013 election, in which he was a candidate for councilman in the Taylor Borough. He unlawfully persuaded Taylor residents and non-residents to register for absentee ballots in the election using a Taylor address. Gallagher was the top vote-getter in the election and won his first term as councilman. With his guilty plea, Gallagher can no longer hold public office. A judge sentenced him to a maximum of 10 months in jail and two months of house arrest for both his election fraud conviction and a DUI conviction. He was also sentenced to more than five years of court supervision and 200 hours of community service. Pennsylvania. 2015. Fraudulent Use of Abs. Ballots. Criminal Conviction. Fraud Investigation. Report Summary