Sit, keep… vote? US lady accused of casting poll in canine’s identify; faces felonies over ‘paw-litical’ fraud

In a weird case of voter fraud that sounds extra like a sitcom subplot than a courtroom actuality, a 62-year-old lady from California has been charged with 5 felony counts after allegedly registering her canine to vote and efficiently casting a poll below the canine’s identify, as per New York Publish.Laura Lee Yourex of Costa Mesa is accused of submitting fraudulent mail-in ballots in the course of the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and once more in the course of the 2022 California main, considered one of them allegedly solid within the identify of her dearly departed canine, Maya Jean Yourex.Whereas voter fraud circumstances are uncommon, this one has captured nationwide consideration not just for its audacity however for its surprisingly private twist: the poll was despatched to her home, addressed to Maya, months after the canine had died. Yourex even took to social media in 2022, posting a photograph of Maya’s collar alongside the poll and quipping: “Maya remains to be getting her poll.”Authorities say the 2021 poll was counted, however the one submitted in 2022 was flagged and rejected.What was she considering?That’s what investigators are nonetheless attempting to determine. In a stunning flip, Yourex turned herself in final October, first contacting the Orange County Registrar of Voters, who then escalated the case to the District Lawyer’s Workplace.She now faces critical authorized penalties, together with fees of perjury, providing a false or cast doc, casting a vote when not entitled, and registering a non-existent particular person (or on this case, a non-person) to vote. If convicted on all counts, Yourex might spend as much as six years behind bars.The DA’s workplace has not disclosed how she obtained the ballots or who she voted for, leaving a path of hypothesis in a state already fraught with political tensions.Poll field gone to the canine?Pictures uncovered in the course of the investigation present Maya — a presumably superb woman — proudly carrying an “I Voted” sticker in earlier elections. Whereas the gesture could have been supposed as satire or protest, the regulation is evident: solely residing, human residents can vote in California. And sure, perjury and forgery are nonetheless crimes, even when your co-conspirator is a corgi.This case additionally reignites the heated debate round mail-in ballots and voter verification in California. The state doesn’t require identification or proof of residence for voters to register or solid ballots in state elections, one thing critics argue leaves the system open to exploitation.The massive imageBecause the nation continues to grapple with election safety and misinformation, particularly after the contentious 2024 presidential cycle, this case has shortly turn out to be a speaking level for each side of the political aisle.Election integrity advocates are pointing to the case as a real-world instance of the failings within the system. Civil liberties teams, alternatively, warning towards utilizing fringe circumstances like this one to justify sweeping voter restrictions.In the meantime, Yourex — who as soon as joked about her canine voting from past the grave — is now dealing with the very actual penalties of a scheme that began with a poll and a humorousness.