A man convicted of second-degree murder as a teenager was arrested Friday in Palm Beach County on charges that he repeatedly tried to register and vote in elections despite never having his civil rights restored. Jivonn Ysbeck now faces one count of voting as an unqualified elector and two counts of false affirmation on a voter registration application.
Ysbeck was booked on October 16, with the unqualified-voter charge carrying a $5,000 bond, according to Palm Beach County Mugshots Zone. A separate perjury charge for falsely swearing an oath showed a bond of $0.00 on the booking record. As reported by CBS12, Ysbeck was arrested after allegedly registering to vote and casting a ballot in Palm Beach County.
A 1998 Conviction Tied to a Staged Home Invasion
Ysbeck was convicted of second-degree murder in Miami-Dade County in 1998, when he was 17 years old, and sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as cited by CBS12. The case stemmed from the 1995 fatal shooting of 54-year-old Paulo Gilles during what a South Florida Sun Sentinel report described as a staged home invasion in North Miami. Police said Gilles's wife, Marie Gilles, arranged the fake robbery because she suspected her husband of having an affair and wanted to scare him into coming to her aid; one of the intruders shot Gilles during a struggle, according to police.
Under Florida law, people convicted of murder are barred from voting unless their civil rights have been restored, per the Florida Legislature's statutes, which include a section on unqualified electors willfully voting. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement found no evidence that Ysbeck's civil rights had ever been restored or that he had received a pardon, per the state records review cited by CBS12. CBS12 reports that his voting rights were never restored.
Three Attempts to Register Over Four Years
According to a criminal probable cause affidavit cited by CBS12, Ysbeck registered to vote online in October 2020 and affirmed at that time that he was not a convicted felon or that his voting rights had been restored. Records show he then requested and returned a mail ballot for the November 2020 general election. The Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections removed Ysbeck from the voter rolls in March 2022 after investigators say he failed to provide proof that his voting rights had been restored.
That removal did not end the matter. Investigators allege Ysbeck submitted another voter registration application in August 2024, again affirming he was eligible to vote despite notice that his voting rights had not been restored. Then, on November 5, 2024, investigators allege he submitted a third registration application along with a provisional ballot, once more affirming his eligibility to vote.
County Notice and State Eligibility Rules
A notice dated November 8, 2024, from the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections listed Ysbeck at a West Palm Beach address as potentially ineligible, directing him to contact the office within 30 days regarding the basis for the finding and the procedure to resolve it. Florida's restoration process for some felony convictions can hinge on financial obligations: the Florida Department of State, Division of Elections says eligibility under one statute can depend on whether a person has paid an amount equal to or greater than the total fines, fees, costs, and restitution ordered in a felony sentence.
Florida statutes also address related offenses, including casting more than one ballot in an election and fraudulent registration tied to illegal-voting investigations, both outlined by the Florida Legislature. Ysbeck now faces one count of voting as an unqualified elector and two counts of false affirmation on a voter registration application, stemming from the repeated registration attempts described by investigators.
