Election-Campaign Law

Alleged voter fraud on Craigslist

By Michael Alvarez

This story, “Detectives investigating potential voter fraud on Craiglist”, comes from King County. Some details:

According to a recent search warrant, on Oct. 19, less than a month before the general election, an ad was posted on the free classified advertising site offering the mail-in ballot for “$50 or best offer.”

According to court records, the ad stated: “I do not vote. I am selling my 2008 absentee ballot for collector’s (sic). It is signed. No candidates have been selected. This ballot is for collecting only, and must not be submitted in the election, as casting another person’s ballot is illegal.”

The ad did not include the seller’s name, so the Sheriff’s Office sought a search warrant for records from Craigslist in November. The detective obtained a second warrant Jan. 7 after learning from Craigslist that the anonymous seller used AT&T as an Internet service provider and an e-mail account through Google, according to affidavits filed in King County Superior Court.

King County elections officials were notified by Seattle’s Ethics and Elections Committee, which fielded an e-mail complaint from a woman who saw the ad while browsing Craigslist, court records say. Elections officials responded to the ad and notified Craigslist, warning that selling the ballot would be illegal, elections spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said.

Full post as published by Election Updates on January 13, 2009 (boomark / email).