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Woman Charged With Felony For Forging Absentee Ballot Application

CBS Detroit - A Plymouth Township woman is facing felony charges for forging at absentee ballot application. A clerk with Plymouth Township Clerk's office noticed a discrepancy on an absentee ballot application.

According to Mlive, The case was sent to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel who has charged Karen Lynne Rotondo with a count of "knowingly making, filing, or publishing a false signature on an absent voter application". The Attorney General alleges that Rotondo forged her daughter's signature on an absentee voter application. Her daughter was unaware that this application for the ballot took place. Hometownlife reported that she resides out of state.

Absentee Vote App CU_1669980898
Credit: Shutterstock.com | Linda Parton

The clerk who worked for Plymouth Township was following established protocols and discovered the evidence that the ballot application was not being done by the person to the person it was sent to. Since the ballot was flagged and sent to the Attorney General's office, no ballot was issued, and therefore no illegal voting took place said the release from Nessel's office.

Attorney General Dana Nessel told Mlive, "Serious criminal consequences exist for those who attempt to tamper with our election process,". She went on to say, "Michiganders should know that absentee ballot applications, which is the subject of this fraud investigation, are not just rubber-stamped and processed robotically. Clerks and other election officials conduct careful examinations of these applications to ensure they are authentic, complete and comport with the law."

If convicted Rotondo could face five years in prison and fines. She is expected to be charged and arraigned in the coming days.


© 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Information from Mlive and Hometownlife Contributed to this report.

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