Two girls, together with a USPS employee, have been arrested for allegedly stealing mail-in ballots and submitting solid votes in Mesa County.
Two girls, together with a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee, have been arrested in Colorado’s Mesa County for allegedly stealing mail-in ballots and forging votes in an try to “check” the voting signature verification system, in accordance with officers and an affidavit.
Chief investigator James Cannon wrote within the affidavit that the investigation started after Mesa County elections employees obtained stories of rejected ballots on account of signature discrepancies. The affected voters claimed that they had by no means obtained their ballots, prompting suspicions of mail theft and forgery.
The ballots in query had been mailed from the Mesa County Clerk’s workplace on Oct. 11, and have been meant for supply in a selected neighborhood serviced by the USPS. Nevertheless, a number of voters in that space reported that their ballots have been by no means obtained, though Mesa County’s election system flagged them as submitted.
Cannon famous that solid signatures on the returned ballots have been considerably totally different from the genuine ones on file. Additional investigation revealed that the stolen ballots originated from no less than two totally different USPS mailbox clusters in the identical subdivision. There have been no indicators of pressured entry, suggesting that somebody with approved entry, such an a USPS worker, might have intercepted the mail.
Stuart, a USPS mail service, had substituted for the common service on the route the place the lacking ballots have been reported, in accordance with Cannon. Investigators linked Stuart to the route in query after discovering she had been in possession of a number of poll envelopes that have been later recognized as stolen.
Throughout questioning, Maxedon admitted to forging the ballots with Stuart’s assist. Initially, Maxedon tried to deflect blame, claiming she had been recruited to participate within the scheme by an unknown man she had randomly met at an area mall, in accordance with the affidavit. Nevertheless, she later confessed that she and Stuart had conspired to check the poll verification system by stealing and forging ballots, paperwork state. Maxedon detailed how Stuart offered her with the stolen ballots, which she stuffed out and returned to Stuart for submission, the affidavit notes.
A key improvement within the investigation got here when a forensic evaluation of the poll envelopes revealed Maxedon’s fingerprints, the affidavit states. This corroborated her confession and linked her on to the fraudulent submissions.
No less than 16 victims of the poll theft scheme have been recognized, with the potential for extra because the investigation continues. Each Stuart and Maxedon face a number of felony fees, together with id theft, forgery, and making an attempt to affect a public servant.
The specified end result of the scheme, in accordance with the affidavit, was for Maxedon and Stuart to find out if the signature verification course of would detect if the cast signatures weren’t these of the recognized voter signatures on file with the Mesa County elections workplace.
“I’m proud our safety measures are efficient, and we’ll stay vigilant to safeguard the integrity of our elections,” Gross mentioned. “I’m dedicated to transparency and accountability at each step of the election course of in order that voters in Mesa County can trust that their ballots are safe.”
Attorneys for Maxedon and Stuart weren’t accessible for remark.