Sit, keep… vote? US woman accused of casting ballot in dog’s title; 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 woman from California has been charged with 5 felony counts after allegedly registering her canine to vote and efficiently casting a ballot beneath the canine’s title, as per New York Post.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, one of them allegedly solid in the title of her dearly departed canine, Maya Jean Yourex.While voter fraud circumstances are uncommon, this one has captured nationwide consideration not just for its audacity however for its surprisingly private twist: the ballot 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 ballot and quipping: “Maya is still getting her ballot.”Authorities say the 2021 ballot was counted, however the one submitted in 2022 was flagged and rejected.What was she pondering?That’s what investigators are nonetheless making an attempt 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 Attorney’s Office.She now faces critical authorized penalties, together with prices of perjury, providing a false or cast doc, casting a vote when not entitled, and registering a non-existent individual (or in this case, a non-person) to vote. If convicted on all counts, Yourex may 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.Ballot field gone to the canine?Photos uncovered in the course of the investigation present Maya — a presumably superb woman — proudly sporting an “I Voted” sticker in earlier elections. While the gesture could have been supposed as satire or protest, the legislation is obvious: solely dwelling, 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 large imageAs the nation continues to grapple with election safety and misinformation, particularly after the contentious 2024 presidential cycle, this case has rapidly grow to be a speaking level for either side of the political aisle.Election integrity advocates are pointing to the case as a real-world instance of the issues in the system. Civil liberties teams, however, warning towards utilizing fringe circumstances like this one to justify sweeping voter restrictions.Meanwhile, 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 ballot and a way of humor.