Criminal charges for vote fraud? That depends on where you live in Washington state

As the voting season ends, some elections offices are turning their attention to the handful of suspicious ballots that were cast. Some cases may be referred to police or prosecutors for further investigation.

For Dennis Herron, of Lewis County, that process resulted in a felony conviction in 2021.

The 79-year-old returned from burying his wife Carolyn, who died from cancer, and cast her ballot in the 2020 presidential election. When questioned by a sheriff’s deputy, he admitted he filled out the ballot and forged her signature.

“When you lose somebody you lived with your whole life, you don’t always make the right choices,” Herron told KING 5 News on the porch of his homestead in the town of Randle.

While Herron didn’t serve any jail time, he is now a felon and has lost certain rights.

Herron might not have paid such a stiff price if he lived in a different part of the state, according to data analyzed by the KING 5 Investigators.

There have been 42 voter-related criminal cases filed in Washington state since 2007, according to a database complied at KING 5’s request by the Administrative Office of the Washington State Courts, which maintains records of most court systems in the state.

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https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/criminal-charges-vote-fraud/281-c800c443-1551-4fb4-94c1-4d1c6f4df53a

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