A Nevada man who claimed to have proof of illegal voting pleaded guilty to voting twice in last year's election, KLAS reports.
Donald “Kirk” Hartle pushed a claim last year after the election that someone illegally voted using his dead wife's ballot.
Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, held a press conference where he touted Rosemarie Hartle as an example of the “hundreds of dead people” who voted in Clark County, Nevada without any evidence.
The Nevada Republican Party cited Hartle's claim in an interview with a local TV outlet to push claims of dead people voting as well.
“That is pretty sickening to me to be honest with you,” Kirk told KLAS at the time. “It was disbelief. It made no sense to me, but it lent some credence to what you’ve been hearing in the media about these possibilities and now it makes me wonder how pervasive is this?”
Busted:
Prosecutors said last month that it was Hartle himself who voted using his dead wife's ballot.
He was charged with voting using the name of another person and voting more than once in the same election.
“Voter fraud is rare, but when it happens it undercuts trust in our election system and will not be tolerated by my office,” Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement. “I want to stress that our office will pursue any credible allegations of voter fraud and will work to bring any offenders to justice.”
Guilty:
Hartle pleaded guilty to one charge of voting twice in the same election, avoiding the second charge which was a felony carrying up to four years in prison.
He was sentenced to probation and a $2,000 fine.
“Ultimately to me, this seems like a cheap political stunt that kind of backfired and shows that our voting system actually works because you were ultimately caught,” Judge Carli Kerny told him in court.
“I would like to say that I accept full responsibility for my actions and regret them, and I’m thankful for your consideration,” Hartle said.
“This particular case of voter fraud was particularly egregious because the offender continually spread inaccurate information about our elections despite being the source of fraud himself,” Ford said in a statement. :I am glad to see Mr. Hartle being held accountable for his actions, and I want to stress that our office will pursue any credible allegations of voter fraud.”
