Woman avoids jail for voting lifeless mother’s ballot in Arizona

PHOENIX (AP) — A choose in Phoenix on Friday sentenced a woman o two years of felony probation, fines and group service for voting her dead mother’s ballot in Arizona in the 2020 basic election.

But the decide rejected a prosecutor’s request that she serve at the very least 30 days in jail as a result of she lied to investigators and demanded that they hold those committing voter fraud accountable.

The case towards Tracey Kay McKee, 64, is one among just a handful of voter fraud circumstances from Arizona’s 2020 election that have led to costs, regardless of widespread belief among many supporters of former President Donald Trump that there was widespread voter fraud that led to his loss in Arizona and different battleground states.

McKee, who was from Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale however now lives in California, sobbed as she apologized to Maricopa County Superior Courtroom Decide Margaret LaBianca before the decide handed down her sentence. McKee stated that she was grieving over the lack of her mother and had no intent to impression the end result of the election.

“Your Honor, I wish to apologize,” McKee instructed LaBianca. “I don’t wish to make the excuse for my habits. What I did was flawed and I’m prepared to just accept the consequences handed down by the courtroom.”

Each McKee and her mom, Mary Arendt, were registered Republicans, though she was not asked if she voted for Trump. Arendt died on Oct. 5, 2020, two days before early ballots were mailed to voters.

Assistant Legal professional General Todd Lawson performed a tape of McKee being interviewed by an investigator along with his workplace where she mentioned there was rampant voter fraud and denied that she had signed and returned her mom’s ballot.

“The only technique to stop voter fraud is to physically go in and punch a poll,” McKee informed the investigator. “I imply, voter fraud is going to be prevalent as long as there’s mail-in voting, for sure. I imply, there’s no approach to make sure a fair election.

“And I don’t consider that this was a good election,” she continued. “I do believe there was quite a lot of voter fraud.”

Tom Henze, McKee’s attorney, pointed to dozens of cases of voter fraud prosecuted in Arizona over the past decade, many for comparable violations of voting another person’s poll, and mentioned nobody got jail time in these instances. He said agreeing with Lawson that McKee ought to do 30 days jail time would elevate constitutional problems with fairness.

“Simply acknowledged, over a protracted period of time, in voluminous circumstances, 67 circumstances, nobody in this state for related circumstances, in related context ... no one received jail time,” Henze mentioned. “The courtroom didn’t impose jail time in any respect.”

However Lawson said jail time was necessary as a result of the kind of case has modified. Whereas in years past, most circumstances involved people voting in two states as a result of they both lived in or had property in each states, within the 2020 election people had purchased into Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.

“What we’re hearing is voter fraud is out there,” Lawson told the decide. “And primarily what we’re seeing here is someone who says ‘Well, I’m going to commit voter fraud because it’s a big drawback and I’m just going to slide in under the radar. And I’m going to do it as a result of all people else is doing it and I can get away with it.’

“I don’t subscribe to that at all,” he mentioned. “And I feel the perspective you hear in the interview is the attitude that differentiates this case from the other circumstances.”

LaBianca mentioned that while she agreed with Lawson, ordering jail time would give McKee what she informed the investigator what she wished: going after people who committed voter fraud.

“And if there have been evidence that this crime was on the rise, and that heightened deterrence could also be referred to as for, the court docket might order jail time,” LaBianca said. “But the report here does not present that this crime is on the rise.

“And abhorrent as it may be for somebody like the defendant to assault the legitimacy of our free elections without any evidence, except your individual fraud, such statements should not unlawful so far as I know,” the choose continued.