JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office says it has uncovered two instances of voter fraud from the 2020 general election and has submitted that evidence to prosecutors in St. Charles County.
According to Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, two men in St. Charles County voted twice in the 2020 election using mail-in ballots sent to Florida and then voted again in person in Missouri.
A spokesperson for the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office confirmed Thursday they had received the probable cause statements from Ashcroft.
The two men have not been identified, pending formal charges. Voter fraud is a felony in Missouri, punishable by up to five years in state prison and a fine between $2,500 and $10,000.
The secretary of state’s office said these attempts at fraud were identified with the help of county election authorities in St. Charles County and in Florida.
Both probable cause statements are dated May 25. Neither statement identified who the men voted for.
In one statement, a suspect registered to vote in Okaloosa County, Florida, in June 2020 using a Florida address and requested an absentee ballot for the 2020 General Election. Missouri was notified of this registration in Florida and the person’s St. Charles County registration was canceled. However, this person attempted to reregister in Missouri in Sept. 2020 with a motor vehicle registration form. Ultimately, this person filled out and submitted their absentee ballot and sent it to Okaloosa County, and voted in person in Missouri on Nov. 3, 2020.
The second individual registered to vote in Marion County, Florida, in Aug. 2020, even though he’d been registered to vote in St. Charles County since Sept. 2018. According to the probable cause statement, this man returned an absentee ballot to Marion County and then voted in person in St. Charles County.
The Missouri Centralized Voting Registration (MCVR) database shows both men voted in person on Nov. 3, 2020.
Ashcroft expressed confidence these were isolated issues and not indicative of wider problems with Missouri elections. However, Ashcroft has long been a proponent of voter ID and wants the state legislature to pass stronger election malfeasance laws.
