A Costa Mesa resident pleaded guilty to registering her deceased dog to vote and submitting ballots in the animal's name during the 2021 and 2022 elections. The case originated from social media posts bragging about the fraudulent activity.
She might have got away with it, too, if it weren’t for a few pesky posts. Costa Mesa resident Laura Lee Yourex, 63, who bragged on social media about registering her dog to vote and subsequently cast multiple election ballots in the animal's name, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor of 'knowing registration of a nonexistent person to vote' earlier this month in Orange County Superior Court.
She is set to be sentenced Oct. 16. As part of her agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors will dismiss four felony counts of perjury, procurement or false or forged document to be filed, and two counts of not being entitled to vote in an election. The misdemeanor count she pleaded to was also initially a felony when she was originally charged last September. As originally charged, Yourex had faced up to six years in state prison.
It is unclear what penalties she faces as a result of her plea. The Orange County district attorney’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday, nor did Yourex’s attorney. Yourex was charged with mailing in ballots for the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election, according to the district attorney’s office. The ballots were sent in the name of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, a boxer.
Prosecutors said Maya’s ballot was counted in the recall election, but rejected the following year. It is unknown how 'Maya' voted, and records indicate she was registered as no party preference. Yourex was a registered Republican as of 2020. Yourex bragged on social media about the fraudulent votes in January 2022.
She allegedly shared a post that included an “I Voted” sticker affixed to the brown boxer as she posed with an illegal ballot, according to the district attorney’s office. Another ballot was mailed in Maya's name in October 2024, though the dog had recently died, prosecutors said. Yourex posted a photo of the ballot and the boxer’s dog tags with a caption that read, “maya is still getting her ballot,” according to prosecutors.
The Orange County registrar of voters office contacted the district attorney about Yourex, who it said self-reported the issue. To be eligible to vote in California, residents must submit an Affidavit of Registrations that includes their name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference and certification that they are a citizen, according to the state Elections Code. Submitting a false affidavit could constitute perjury, officials say.
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