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A former county elections commissioner in New York has pleaded guilty to applying for absentee ballots in the names of other registered voters.
“Jason Schofield, who is from Troy, resigned last month from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections. He admitted that in 2021 he unlawfully used the names and birthdates of voters in connection with 12 absentee ballot applications that he submitted electronically to the New York State Voter Absentee Ballot Application Request Portal, according to federal prosecutors,” Fox News reported.
“Schofield, 43, admitted he falsely certified that he was the voter requesting each of the absentee ballots. When Schofield was originally arraigned in September, his attorney said Schofield maintained he was innocent of the charges in the 12-count indictment. Schofield is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to three years for each count,” the report added.
Earlier this year, the FBI arrested Schofield over allegations of an absentee ballot fraud scheme and he was arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.
He was charged with unlawfully using the names and dates of birth of voters to fraudulently apply for absentee ballots for elections held in Rensselaer County in 2021.
Schofield, a Republican, was released on his own recognizance until his trial scheduled before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.
“He is accused of unlawfully possessing and using the names and dates of birth of voters in connection with absentee ballot applications that he submitted to a New York State Board of Elections website in 2021. The indictment alleges that Schofield applied for absentee ballots in the names of people who had no interest in voting in 2021 and did not request absentee ballots or Schofield’s assistance in voting or obtaining absentee ballots,” Fox News reported.
“In some of these instances, the indictment explained, Schofield also took possession of the absentee ballots issued to these voters, brought them to voters, and had them sign absentee ballot envelopes without actually voting. This allegedly allowed Schofield or another person to cast votes in these voters’ names in Rensselaer County’s 2021 primary and general elections,” the outlet added.
“If convicted, Schofield would face up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to 3 years on each of the 12 counts,” the report continued.
