In a scheme aimed at challenging the integrity of the voting system, two women in Mesa County have been ensnared by the law, facing charges that cast a dim light on their professed motives. According to Denver7, Vicki Lyn Stuart, 64, and Salley Jane Maxedon, 60, were arrested on Wednesday for attempting to submit over a dozen fraudulent ballots in the recent election. They claimed their actions were part of a "test" of the county's signature verification system.
Charges laid out against them include identity theft, an attempt to influence a public servant and forgery, a troubling tableau that underscores the fraught nature of our electoral safeguards, such actions pose a real threat, raising questions about the proficiency and integrity of mechanisms in place to protect the sanctity of the vote. Their endeavor backfired, as suggested by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold's efficient response to the blight upon democracy, revealed late last month.
Additionally, a concerning pattern of ballot theft emerged, linked to a mail carrier's route in Mesa County. A substitute mail carrier, Stuart allegedly deviated from her duties, choosing instead to filch ballots from unsuspecting residents. As stated by The Denver Post, upon delivering ballots on October 12, Stuart claimed to have returned about 20 ballots to a USPS annex, citing name discrepancies, however, her story would later shift, revealing deeper layers of the ballot heist.
Unraveling the depths of the fraud, KDVR states in an article that Stuart handed over purloined ballots to Maxedon, who would then fraudulently complete them, seeding falsehood into the electoral process. According to investigators, as cited by KDVR, "She then told investigators that Stuart stole the ballots from citizen mail, and then provided Maxedon with six or seven ballots each night for Maxedon to fill out," revealing the systematic nature of their scheme, which has led to the identification of at least 20 victims of voter fraud as of November 5.