Two women, one of whom is a United States Postal Service (USPS) worker, were arrested in Mesa County, Colorado for allegedly stealing mail-in ballots and forging votes in an attempt to test the voting signature verification system. The arrests were made by investigators from the Colorado’s 21st Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 6 after reports of unreceived and fraudulently submitted ballots surfaced on Oct. 21.
The two women, Vicki Stuart and Sally Maxedon, have been charged with identity theft, attempting to influence a public servant, and forgery. According to an arrest affidavit, Chief investigator James Cannon initiated the investigation after Mesa County elections staff received reports of rejected ballots due to signature discrepancies. The investigation revealed that the stolen ballots were intended for delivery in a specific neighborhood serviced by the USPS.
Stuart, a USPS mail carrier, had substituted for the regular carrier on the route where the missing ballots were reported. Maxedon admitted to forging the ballots with Stuart’s help, initially claiming she was recruited by an unknown man but later confessing to conspiring with Stuart to test the ballot verification system. A forensic analysis of the ballot envelopes revealed Maxedon’s fingerprints, linking her directly to the fraudulent submissions.
At least 16 victims of the ballot theft scheme have been identified, with both Stuart and Maxedon facing multiple felony charges. The scheme aimed to test if the signature verification process would detect forged signatures. Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Bobbie Gross commended the security measures that flagged the fraudulent attempts, ensuring the integrity of the elections.
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