‘Test case’: Man faces felony charge, incarceration for posting completed ballot on Facebook
An Arizona election judge has ordered a 20-year-old man to serve two years in federal prison after he was found guilty of attempted ballot fraud.
Justin Taylor, of Tempe, Ariz., faces up to two years behind bars. He entered a plea of guilty Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wake.
Attorneys for Taylor said he was a sophomore in high school when he joined Facebook and searched for an image of Arizona’s ballot to use in a fake election. The photo he found was of a ballot that had been left at a polling place.
“Taylor became obsessed with the idea of making that image of the ballot appear legitimate,” court documents said.
Taylor’s attorney said he didn’t think the image was a fake.
“There is also evidence that Justin was obsessed with voting and had made a fake ballot at a polling place in the town he lived in,” attorney Brian McGuire wrote in his motion to dismiss the case.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies investigated. The Bureau of Land Management and the Arizona Game and Wildlife Department also investigated, officials said. The FBI and DHS Office of Inspector General also took part in the investigation, officials said.
In court documents, authorities said an online vote fraud operation was uncovered during a probe involving the Tempe Police Department and the FBI and other federal and state agencies.
Taylor and his attorney are accused of attempting to cast multiple votes on Election Day in May.
The ballot was the only one Taylor found. He used that photo to fill out Arizona’s voter card. That was supposed to be done before voting.
“Taylor attempted to cast a vote on Election Day in Arizona using an election ballot that he did not possess. The ballot he used was a picture of a ballot he found, that he later learned had been printed for use in ‘a fictitious election,'” according to a U.S. court filing.
Taylor was arrested in Arizona during the investigation. He was being held in federal custody in Baltimore, where he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He pleaded not guilty.
U.S. District Court Judge Neil Wampler earlier denied a motion by Taylor’s attorneys to dismiss the charges, as well as a motion
