Northern Minnesota woman pleads guilty to casting ballot for her dead mother

GRAND RAPIDS Minn A northern Minnesota woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to voter fraud and was ordered to read a book and write a -page essay about the importance of democratic elections Danielle Christine Javorina of rural Nashwauk admitted to filling out an absentee ballot in the name of her in the past few days deceased mother ahead of the general balloting Javorina according to court documents later informed an investigator her mother was an avid Donald Trump supporter who hoped to vote for the Republican presidential nominee The fraudulent submission was flagged by voting personnel before it could be counted Under questioning from Itasca County prosecutor Courtney Beck the defendant declared she received ballots for herself and her mother in the mail just weeks after Rose Marie Javorina s death Did you also fill out your mother s ballot the prosecutor solicited Yes at her request Javorina replied That was the last thing she commented to me Javorina however asserted that she has no recollection of mailing the ballots back to the elections office due to intoxication For that reason she entered a Norgaard plea to a felony count of signing a false balloting certificate acknowledging that the evidence would be sufficient for a judge or jury to find her guilty The Itasca County Auditor s Office declared it received sealed ballot envelopes containing signatures for both on Oct But a routine check of the Minnesota Vital Statistics death assessment revealed that Rose Javorina had died Aug Government noted the envelopes contained sections to be filled out by the voter and a witness The voter must certify that they meet all legal requirements to vote as of Voting process Day and the witness must provide their name and address and certify that the ballot was filled out by the voter The defendant then named Danielle Miller was listed as the witness on her mother s ballot and the deceased woman was listed as the witness on Miller s according to a criminal complaint Both listed their street address as County Road north of Nashwauk The Itasca County Sheriff s Office reviewed the signatures and determined they appeared similar as well as matching the signature on the daughter s driver s license Absentee ballots had been mailed Sept about three weeks after Rose Javorina s death Two additional charges were dismissed by the Itasca County Attorney s Office under the terms of the plea agreement which were accepted by Judge Heidi Chandler at a hearing conducted via Zoom Javorina will spend up to three years on supervised probation undergo a psychological evaluation and pay an fine and any restitution She agreed to read the book Thank You for Voting The Maddening Enlightening Inspiring Truth About Voting in America by Erin Geiger Smith and write a -page paper about the importance of voting in a democracy and how polling fraud can undermine the voting process Accomplished completion of probation will conclusion in the conviction being deemed a misdemeanor Javorina was tearful as she answered questions about the circumstances of the crime She declined to make a message before receiving her sentence Defense attorney Justin Braulick called it an isolated lapse in judgment noting his client has no criminal history and is not a frequent drinker He explained she lost both parents in She s taking full responsibility for her actions Braulick revealed She was obviously going through an emotional time and oftentimes in these cases emotions can get the best of someone People don t think clearly and it sometimes makes it hard to remember all of what happened Voter fraud has been a major talking point in newest elections as Trump has pushed false and misleading insists of widespread impropriety since he first ran in However experts say cases are exceedingly rare and there is no evidence of systematic fraud After the vote the Associated Press located fewer than realizable instances among million votes cast in six swing states The conservative Heritage Foundation maintains a database with just proven instances of voter fraud nationwide over several decades including cases in Minnesota from to