7 charged with voter fraud in 2008 elections
By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel
jsonline.com
Posted: April 21, 2010 |
Prosecutors charged seven people this week with election fraud related to the November 2008 election in Milwaukee.
Three are charged with voting as felons, two with voting twice, and two with falsely procuring voter registrations while working for the organization ACORN.
• Olando Maclin, 53, had been sentenced in July 2007 to two years of extended supervision for receiving stolen property. He had been told by his attorney and the judge that he could not vote until his civil rights were restored.
According to a criminal complaint in the voting case, Maclin never showed up for an appointment with his probation officer and was labeled an "instant absconder."
On Nov. 4, 2008, he cast a ballot at Garden Homes Lutheran School, 2450 W. Roosevelt Drive, according to the complaint.
• Edward G. Johnson, 47, had been sentenced in January 2007 to three years of probation for possession of cocaine. Johnson was also told at least twice that he could not vote while on supervision. The complaint does not state where Johnson cast his vote in November 2008.
• Michael Henderson, 40, was on probation from a felony in Rock County and also voted in Milwaukee, according to a Department of Justice news release.
All three are charged with two offenses - voting while disqualified and providing false information to an election official. Each count is punishable by up to 3 1/2 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
• Herbert and Suzanne Gunka of Milwaukee were charged with double voting, having cast absentee ballots before the election and then voting again on election day. That charge is also a felony.
• Maria Miles, 37, and Kevin Clancy, 27, of Racine, are charged with being parties to the crime of falsely procuring voter registrations. The Justice Department release said they submitted several applications for the same people, "and also were part of a scheme in which they and other (special registration deputies) registered each other to vote multiple times in order to meet voter registration quotas imposed by ACORN."
The cases were investigated by the Election Fraud Task Force, a collaborative effort between the Department of Justice, the Milwaukee County district attorney's office and the Milwaukee Police Department. |
