Election Fraud Cases
The results of the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut Democratic mayoral primary election, which was held on September 12, 2023, were overturned due to absentee ballot fraud in an election where only 251 votes separated the winner (Joseph Ganim) and the loser (John Gomes). Superior Court Judge William Clark ordered that a new primary election between Ganim (the party-endorsed candidate) and Gomes (the challenger) should be held because an unusually large number of absentee ballots that were counted had been illegally placed in drop boxes by two unauthorized ballot distributors who were Ganim supporters: Wanda Geter-Pataky (a Democratic Town Committee member and the Leader of Voting District 136) and Eneida Martinez (a candidate for City Council). The court determined that videos of Geter-Pataky and Martinez illegally dropping off stacks of votes into various drop boxes “provided evidence of ballot harvesting, in violation of state law.” Geter-Pataky made 10 drops either directly or indirectly, and Martinez made 5 separate drops of multiple ballots. The court also found “the volume of ballots mishandled is such it calls the result of the primary election in serious doubt and unable to determine the legitimate result of the primary.”
Source: herit.ag/3TBYUNy
The results of the June 2021 Compton City Council run-off election were overturned by Judge Michelle Williams Court after it was determined that four votes cast in the election were submitted by registered voters who did not live in the district the council seat represented. A run-off election between incumbent Isaac Galvan and Andre Spicer was decided by one vote and Galvan was declared the winner. Five people including Galvan have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit election fraud. The Superior Court Judge threw out four votes that were found to be cast by voters who did not live in the proper jurisdiction, and Spicer was declared the official winner of the election. All of the individuals charged have already pleaded guilty or no contest to the charges.
Source: https://herit.ag/3Np798W , https://herit.ag/3OK0uqL, https://herit.ag/3QU6ora
A judge overturned the results in the 2020 Eatonville Town Council Seat 4 election after finding that votes had been improperly cast. On election night, the initial vote tally was 262 votes for Marlin Daniels and 253 votes for Tarus Mack. After counting provisional ballots, the vote tally was 262 for Daniels and 261 for Mack, leaving a margin of one vote. Following a recount, two additional uncounted votes were discovered, both for Mack, leading him to be declared the winner. During a bench trial, evidence was presented that one of the two “discovered” ballots was not cast by the alleged voter, and that another voter was coerced by former Mayor Anthony Grant (who was convicted of voter fraud in an unrelated case) to vote for Mack, by suggesting that he would forgive overdue rental payments and not evict the voter if he voted for Mack. The judge ruled that those two votes should have been excluded from the vote tally, and declared Daniels to be the winner of the election to the Eatonville Town Council Seat 4 position.
Source: bit.ly/3FzrFR4 , bit.ly/3Hj6eEq , bit.ly/3qmnPEs
Judge Jeff Weill overturned the results of the June 2020 First Ward Alderman Democratic primary election in Aberdeen, Mississippi, due to absentee ballot fraud, and has ordered a new election. Nicholas Holliday was declared the winner of the June primary by a margin of 37 votes over Robert Devaull. After Devaull filed a lawsuit challenging the results of the race, the Monroe County District court found that 66 of the 84 absentee ballots cast should not have been counted because they were not valid. A notary, Dallas Jones, was arrested for election fraud for notarizing ballots without watching voters sign ballots or checking their identification. In addition to the absentee ballot fraud, the court found evidence of intimidation at the polls by various public officials, including Mayor Maurice Howard, candidate Holliday, and Aberdeen Police Chief Henry Randle, which constituted violations of anti-electioneering rules at polling places.
Source: https://herit.ag/3idftfH , https://herit.ag/3BPBXeb, https://herit.ag/3iM4ubO
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.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iXAPN9 , https://herit.ag/3f2iVaF, https://herit.ag/3BNsOmj
The 2018 election for Georgia's 28th House district was overturned twice by Senior Superior Court Judge David Sweat because some out-of-district voters submitted ballots, some voters moved out of the district between the first and second runoff elections, and there was at least one instance of duplicate voting. Though individuals were not prosecuted, this northeastern Georgia district faced three elections in the same year between the same Republican candidates (no Democrats ran). In the end, the incumbent lost to challenger Chris Erwin.
Source: https://herit.ag/3vOk50B, https://herit.ag/3bdrgWS
Armando O'Cana won a run-off mayoral election in Mission, Texas, unseating longtime holder Norberto 'Beto' Salinas. Salinas contested the results of the election, after strong evidence emerged that O'Cana's campaign was bribing voters, tampering with mail-in ballots, and improperly assisting voters at the polls. After a two week trial during which numerous witnesses testified, Judge J. Bonner Dorsey voided the election stating, 'I hold or find, by clear and convincing evidence, that the number of illegal votes was in excess of 158.' Attorneys for O'Cana are currently appealing the ruling in the 13th Texas Court of Appeals.
Source: https://herit.ag/3BEYlH8, https://herit.ag/3i88t3v, https://herit.ag/3iWOsfg
A closely contested run-off election for a Justice of Peace seat was overturned by Visiting District Court Judge Joel Johnson, following a two-day hearing. A challenge to the election was filed by Ofelia "Ofie" Gutierrez, the candidate running against long time seatholder, Esequiel "Cheque" De La Paz, for the Justice of the Peace seat in Kleberg County. After a recount narrowed the vote differential to just six votes (312 to 318), seven of the sixteen votes contested by Guiterrez were thrown out by Judge Johnson, because they were cast by relatives of De La Paz who lived outside the Precinct 4 boundaries. A new election was ordered to be held before the end of August.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iTTEkf, https://herit.ag/3BQhSVo
In a Republican primary for a seat on the Kaufman County Court, Dennis Jones appeared to beat his challenger Tracy Gray by one vote. Gray challenged the results, claiming that a "vote harvester" had submitted a number of illegal mail-in ballots and that numerous eligible provisional ballots were uncounted. A district judge agreed, invalidating the election results and ordering a new election. The special election was held on July 21 and Tracy Gray prevailed, winning by 404 votes.
Source: https://herit.ag/378DJJa, https://herit.ag/3f3wjeH
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.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l3HxUq, https://herit.ag/3xbrxC6, https://herit.ag/3zGQyXI
Brandon Dean, who was elected mayor of Brighton, Alabama in 2016, was ordered to vacate the office after a judge determined that 46 fraudulent abentee votes had been cast for him in the 2016 election. Of these ballots, 21 were not signed by the voter, 22 had been sent to Dean's address instead of the voters' homes, 2 absentee ballots were submitted by voters who were actually present at city hall on Election Day, and one did not live in Brighton city limits. Deducting the fraudulent votes dropped Dean's vote total below the threshold needed to avoid a mandatory runoff, which the city of Brighton must now hold.
Source: https://herit.ag/2WlR6DL, https://herit.ag/3x2hFL2
Penny Hubbard, the incumbent, won the 2016 Democratic primary for Missouri's 78th House District by 90 votes. Her challenger, Bruce Franks Jr., contested the results, citing the lopsided absentee vote tally that heavily favored Hubbard. District Judge Rex Burlison determined that a sufficient number of improper absentee ballots had been cast to change the results of the election, and ordered a special election. Mr. Franks won the re-do by a margin of 1,533 votes. The election of Rodney Hubbard Sr., Penny Hubbard's husband, who won his 2016 primary for 5th Democratic Ward committeeman, is also being challenged by his opponent Rasheen Aldridge, again citing irregularities in absentee ballots.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rKEfa4
Fernando Gonzalez won a seat on the Perth Amboy City Council by 10 votes in an election where at least 13 illegal absentee ballots were cast. A Superior Court judge subsequently overturned the election results and ordered a new election be held in May 2015 for the seat.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iVp35W, https://herit.ag/3BOrBeP
On election night, it appeared that political newcomer Ryan Horn defeated incumbent City Councilman Dennis Flores in the primary for Lorain City Council Democratic Ward 2. Flores claimed, through his attorney, that the voting was rigged. Following a lengthy trial, Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Betleski invalidated the initial election results and declared Flores to be the winner. For each ballot he tossed, Betelski outlined why it was not authorized and, hence, illegitimate.
Source: https://herit.ag/3742y9k
A City Council election (originally decided by four votes) in Vernon, California is overturned when it is determined that five people who voted for the winner were not residents of the city, and two others had not properly mailed in their ballots. A new winner was subsequently named.
Source: https://herit.ag/3761dPs
Cristobal Calix, a Honduran citizen, came to the U.S. in 1976 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1980.When he applied for naturalization in 2004, he admitted to voting in the 2004 general election. Voting records showed he also voted in 14 other elections between 1984 and 1996. An immigration judge determined that Calix was removable because he had illegally registered and voted in the 2004 election, a decision which was upheld on appeal by the Third Circuit.
Source: https://herit.ag/3iWVLni
The Supreme Court of Alabama overturned the mayoral election results for the City of Guntersville, Alabama after finding that absentee ballots cast without proper identification should have been excluded.
Source: https://herit.ag/2VheVfn, https://herit.ag/3l1MVYj
Christine Chernosky, a Canadian citizen, came to the United States on a six-month visitor visa. During that time, she applied for a driver's license, registered to vote, and voted in the 2004 election, a felony under Minnesota law. Immigration Judge ruled that this Canadian citizen could be deported from the U.S. and was inadmissible because she had illegally registered and voted in the 2004 election, and it was upheld on appeal.
Source: https://herit.ag/3kZqBhJ
A 2001 election in Compton turned into a multi-year legal drama as candidates for city council and mayor traded accusations of fraud. In the election, incumbent Mayor Omar Bradley lost to challenger Eric Perrodin by 281 votes, and Leslie Irving (a Perrodin ally) defeated Melanie Andrews for an open city council seat. Bradley sued, alleging fraud, including allegations that Irving illegally registered non-citizens. Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin overturned the election, returning Bradley to power based on the fact that the city clerk had improperly placed Perrodin's name at the top of the ballot rather than select the order randomly. Chirlin also found that Irving had indeed helped non-citizens to register and vote in the election, and removed Irving from office and replaced her with Andrews. On appeal, Chirlin's ruling was partially overturned. The appellate court acknowledged that Perrodin had benefited from a "primacy effect," but this was insufficient to overturn the election. The appellate court upheld the removal of Irving from office, but held that Judge Chirlin should have ordered a new election rather than simply replace her with Andrews.
Source: https://herit.ag/3eYoNBS, https://herit.ag/370aqsu
The results of the 1993 mayoral election in Hialeah were voided by a Dade County judge after the discovery of several forged absentee ballots. The judge found that one of the candidates had a 2-to-1 advantage in absentee ballots, which he attributed to "overzealous" campaign workers at an elderly home in addition to several non-residents and mentally incompetent people voting.
Source: https://herit.ag/3eYoNSo, https://herit.ag/371Bx6v
A 1993 special Pennsylvania state senate election was overturned by a federal district court judge due to absentee ballot fraud. This election was important as the senate was evenly divided and the winner would determine which party controlled the senate. Campaign workers for Democratic candidate William Stimson engaged in a massive absentee ballot scheme involving nearly 600 tainted ballots. After a surprising and extraordinary surge in absentee ballots seemed to result in a victory for Stinson, an investigation was undertaken. Stinson was indicted for his role in the scheme but was not convicted. Two campaign workers, Ramon Pratt and Barbara Landers, were convicted of misdemeanor offenses.
In a related civil suit, however, a federal district court judge determined that Stinson and others engaged in a scheme to steal the election, and Stinson was removed from office. The scheme primarily targeted Latino and black voters by using intimidation, and deception in order to fraudulently obtain and process absentee ballots in violation of state law. Two Democratic city commissioners, Margaret Tartaglione and Alexander Talmadge, Jr., and an elections supervisor, Dennis Kelly, were also found to have been complicit in allowing the fraud to occur.
Source: https://herit.ag/3kmWmR8, nyti.ms/37Iz7L4 , bit.ly/2WDw949 , https://herit.ag/3lAcK08
The Fresno Chapter of the Black American Political Association of California orchestrated a ballot harvesting scheme in order to win 13 seats on various Fresno County school boards. Through a scheme organized by Frank Revis, BAPAC received over 1,300 absentee ballots delivered to addresses provided by BAPAC, not those of the individual voters. Over 250 of those ballots were lost, while the rest were disqualified as containing invalid signatures or otherwise having been illegally cast. The California State Supreme Court overturned the results of the election due to fraud and tampering with absentee ballots.
Source: https://herit.ag/3l3JK2i
Three campaign supporters illegally submitted absentee ballots during the 1992 Hardee County sheriff election. Although a grand jury found that no criminal intent was involved, the election was thrown out and a new one was ordered.
Source: https://herit.ag/3rDZASz
