An election judge in a Minnesota township has been charged with two felonies for accepting votes from people who should not have been allowed to cast a ballot.
Timothy Michael Scouton of Nevis, Minnesota, was the head election judge in Badoura Township Precinct in Hubbard County, according to KMSP-TV.
He faces one count of accepting the vote of an unregistered voter and one count of neglect of duty by an election official.
After the election, Hubbard County Auditor Kay Rave could not find some required voter registration forms among the paperwork Scouton turned in after the election, according to The Associated Press.
BREAKING: AfMinnesota election judge Timothy Scouton faces felony charges for allowing 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots, bypassing registration laws. He risks up to 5 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.
Source: KTLA pic.twitter.com/AywWYlMGnT
— Manokekame (@Manokekame1) November 16, 2024
Rave told police that on Nov. 7, she contacted Scouton, who said he could not find the registration forms for 11 voters.
After Rave found the forms, she said she learned from Scouton that he and other election judges in the town did not use them, according to a criminal complaint.
That led her to contact police to explain that 11 voters never completed the required forms to verify their identities.
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Another judge said Scouton told her on Election Day to not use the Minnesota Voter Registration Application form, the complaint said.
Scouton’s son was working as an election judge, that person said, and was responsible for registering applications.
Another election judge said he did not know Minnesota Voter Registration Application forms even existed because Scouton said new voters only needed to sign in, the complaint noted.
The Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office arrested Scouton, who offered no comment about the allegations.
“These allegations are extremely serious and must be fully and thoroughly investigated. Election judges take an oath to administer elections in accordance with the law, a deliberate failure to do so is unlawful and a betrayal of the public trust,” the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office said in a statement.
“Minnesota’s elections rely on the dedication and public service of 30,000 people and they are required to conduct their work fairly, impartially, and within the letter of the law. The Hubbard County Auditor took prompt and correct action in notifying local authorities of the uncovered discrepancies so they could investigate,” the statement said.
Scouton underwent basic election judge training and head judge training in July, according to KTSP-TV.
Scouton’s next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 6.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon said that “99.99 percent of election judges do the right thing. But you are going to have somebody do the wrong thing,” according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
“It was caught and detected. … The system worked,” Simon said.
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