{"id":2353722,"date":"2024-10-11T12:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-10-11T16:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elections-officials-investigating-suspected-voter-registration-fraud\/"},"modified":"2024-10-11T13:02:44","modified_gmt":"2024-10-11T17:02:44","slug":"elections-officials-investigating-suspected-voter-registration-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elections-officials-investigating-suspected-voter-registration-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Elections Officials Investigating Suspected Voter Registration Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Felections-officials-investigating-suspected-voter-registration-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2353722&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The North Carolina State Board of Elections is investigating allegations of voter registration fraud linked to a registration drive in \u200bBrunswick County. Sara LaVere, the county&#8217;s elections director, reported that 18 voters have claimed they did not authorize registration forms submitted in their names, suggesting \u200binstances of\u200b &#8220;voter impersonation.&#8221; These suspect forms, which were forwarded from the State Board to the county for verification,\u200c contained inaccuracies such as incorrect personal information\u2064 and \u2063forged signatures. \u2062 <\/p>\n<p>One affected resident, Shelley \u200cGentner, received a letter from the elections board regarding a registration \u2063application with false details, including a forged signature. While the actions constitute identity crimes and are \u2062illegal, they do \u200cnot qualify as voter fraud\u200b as no ballots were cast using the fraudulent registrations.<\/p>\n<p>This situation arises amid increased scrutiny over \u2064voter registration in North Carolina, particularly during election disruptions caused by natural disasters and various organizations&#8217; efforts to mobilize voters. Similar issues \u200dare surfacing in Ohio, where the state secretary of state has referred suspected \u2063election law violations to prosecutors after findings of fraudulent\u200b registrations tied to a particular firm,\u200b Black Fork Strategies. Election integrity concerns are heightened in both states as the election season progresses.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbe.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">North Carolina State Board of Elections<\/a> is investigating several allegations of voter registration fraud connected to a voter registration drive, a Brunswick County elections official tells The Federalist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Voter Impersonation&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Sara LaVere, director of the Brunswick County Board of Elections, told me that 18 voters have contacted her office saying they did not complete registration forms received by the board. LeVere said it appears someone &ldquo;falsely filled out the forms.&rdquo; Election officials are calling the alleged identity fraud &ldquo;voter impersonation.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We noticed some information that was different than what we had on record, an address, Social Security number, so we sent a letter to those voters asking them to complete that information,&rdquo; the elections official told me in an interview Thursday. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>LaVere said the suspect forms originally were turned in to the State Board of Elections, which forwarded them to the county office for verification.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-can-reject-voter-registrations-without-citizenship-proof-court-rules\/\" title=\"Arizona can reject voter registrations without citizenship proof, court rules\">state voter registration forms<\/a> appear to come from a voter registration drive,&rdquo; she said, noting that the records include codes denoting their source. In this case, LaVere said, the code on the 18 applications showed they originated from a registration drive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;It&rsquo;s Not Me&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Brunswick County elections officials contacted the State Board of Elections. LaVere said she has not heard back from state officials on the status of the investigation. State officials did not return The Federalist&rsquo;s requests for comment, including an email asking whether there are any suspects, arrests or referrals to prosecutors in the case. The email seeks to know who was behind the voter registration drive and whether other North Carolina counties are dealing with similar incidents.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If the phony registration applications came from a voter registration drive, it&rsquo;s possible other North Carolina county elections boards have received similar bogus forms.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Leland, North Carolina, resident Shelley Gentner was one of the reported victims. Reached for comment, Gentner said she would not discuss the matter with The Federalist, but she did share her experiences with WECT News6 in Wilmington.<\/p>\n<p>Gentner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wect.com\/2024\/10\/08\/attempted-voter-fraud-woman-brunswick-county-says-someone-tried-impersonate-her\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the news outlet that she received a letter from the Brunswick County Board of Elections in August asking her to verify her voter information. Attached was a copy of a voter registration application form that included an incorrect birth date and the wrong last four digits of her Social Security Number. It did include her correct address and phone number, but the signature was forged, she told the TV station.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Okay, someone has signed my name on an application. It&rsquo;s not my signature. It&rsquo;s not me,&rsquo;&rdquo; Gentner, a <a href=\"https:\/\/vt.ncsbe.gov\/RegLkup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">registered<\/a>, unaffiliated voter in the county since 2020, told the reporter.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Because the registration form has not been used to falsely cast a ballot, the identity crimes are illegal but not technically voter fraud. Under North Carolina <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncleg.gov\/EnactedLegislation\/Statutes\/PDF\/ByArticle\/Chapter_163\/Article_7A.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">law<\/a>, &ldquo;Any person who willfully and knowingly and with fraudulent intent gives false information on the application &hellip; is guilty of a Class I felony,&rdquo; punishable by up to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nccourts.gov\/assets\/documents\/publications\/Sample-list-2017.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">two years in prison<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Elections officials in North Carolina are dealing with election disruptions in more than a dozen counties pounded by Hurricane Helene, with early voting starting next week. With an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/voter-registration-project\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">army of leftist groups<\/a> pushing get-out-the-vote campaigns targeting left-leaning voters and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carolinajournal.com\/gop-democrats-elections-board-spar-over-lawsuit-challenging-225000-voter-registrations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legal battles over hundreds of thousands of voter registrations<\/a>, election integrity in swing state North Carolina is under assault more than ever this election season.<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;This is Fraud&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Ohio, too, is dealing with incidents of alleged voter registration fraud in several counties. In August, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiosos.gov\/secretary-office\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose<\/a> referred evidence of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-is-fraud-ohio-investigators-eye-suspect-voter-registrations\/\" title=\"&#039;This Is Fraud&#039;: Ohio Investigators Eye Suspect Voter Registrations\">suspected election law violations<\/a> to 20 county prosecutors &ldquo;for review and possible criminal prosecution.&rdquo; The violations, according to the secretary of state&rsquo;s office, involve <a href=\"https:\/\/blackfork.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Black Fork Strategies LLC<\/a>, an Ohio-based &ldquo;engagement firm that focuses on all aspects of community and electoral field work.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>A month before, the <a href=\"https:\/\/votehamiltoncountyohio.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hamilton County Board of Elections<\/a> had received a stack of apparently fraudulent voter registration forms, including one in the name of iconic U.S. diplomat, the late Henry Kissinger. The applications&rsquo; signatures all appeared to be in the same handwriting, Elections Board Director Sherry Poland told Hamilton BOE members at a <a href=\"https:\/\/rumble.com\/v58r97h-fraudulent-voter-registrations-detected-in-ohio.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">meeting<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The first thing I want to point out is, you know, we use words like &lsquo;anomalies,&rsquo; &lsquo;suspicion,&rsquo; and everything else because we try to be PC, I guess. But this is fraud, outright fraudulent behavior,&rdquo; said Hamilton County Board of Elections member Alex Triantafilou, who also serves as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In Cuyahoga County, home to Cleveland, the local board of elections found at least 18 suspicious voter registration cards involving Black Fork, The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/29\/this-is-fraud-ohio-investigators-looking-into-suspect-voter-registrations-tied-to-left-wing-firm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> in August.<\/p>\n<p>Butler County investigators will soon release their findings in similar cases involving documents with suspect signatures submitted to the local board of elections, County Prosecuting Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/prosecutor.bcohio.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mike Gmoser<\/a> told me in a phone interview on Thursday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last month, elections boards in Delaware and Franklin counties reported fraudulent voter registration forms linked to Black Fork Strategies, according to the Columbus Dispatch.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Franklin and Delaware County&#8217;s Boards of Elections have flagged fraudulent voter registration forms submitted by the firm Black Fork Strategies. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/K5TpV8oUPS\">https:\/\/t.co\/K5TpV8oUPS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Columbus Dispatch (@DispatchAlerts) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DispatchAlerts\/status\/1837726033937629344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 22, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<h2>&lsquo;Where the Evidence Leads&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Ohio Secretary of State spokesman Dan Lusheck said the matter remains under investigation by the office so he cannot comment beyond what has been publicly reported. But Lusheck asserts the suspected voter registration fraud investigation remains a top priority.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re working with prosecutors in multiple counties to investigate and potentially prosecute wrongdoing related to Black Fork Strategies operatives,&rdquo; he said in a statement emailed to The Federalist. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll go where the evidence leads, and we&rsquo;ll enforce the law wherever it&rsquo;s been broken.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>LaRose recently created the secretary of state office&rsquo;s first full-time investigative unit exclusively devoted to election integrity.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Black Fork Strategies officials have not returned The Federalist&rsquo;s requests for comment. The company has released a <a href=\"https:\/\/woub.org\/2024\/08\/13\/ohio-secretary-of-state-says-circulators-may-have-broken-law-with-voter-registrations-petitions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> saying that it is cooperating with elections officials on all requests for information regarding Black Fork&rsquo;s voter registration program.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Black Fork Strategies take any allegations of possible voter registration fraud seriously and cooperates with investigations,&rdquo; Black Fork&rsquo;s statement concludes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>North Carolina is probing voter registration fraud claims linked to a drive<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2353723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-11-at-2.49.54-AM-1024x448.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[6571,42812,6431],"class_list":["post-2353722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-elections","tag-fraud-investigation","tag-voter-registration"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Screenshot-2024-10-11-at-2.49.54-AM-1024x448.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2353722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2353722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2353723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2353722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2353722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2353722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}