The coordinator’s revelation came after a client told her during a Zoom call that “he voted for Biden but didn’t want to,” as the Democratic candidate “would make his Social Security payments go down.” Confused, “Susan” asked what her client meant. The client then told her that one of the staff members at the group home where he lives had filled out his ballot for him. Another client told “Susan” that he was simply handed a ballot already filled out. More clients told her the same story of voting for Biden against their will.
She also told O’Donnell of other instances how residents of assisted living facilities “voted” for Biden. A woman “Susan” dubbed as a “born contrarian” wanted to vote for President Donald Trump, as most of the staff at her home supported the former vice president. Voting came and she wanted to pick Trump, but a staff member told her that the president was “a bad man.” The same staff member instructed the woman to vote for Biden, which she grudgingly did.
The coordinator added: “I don’t know if they voted in other races after my clients saw their ballots, but a number of them told me that the only one they voted for was president.” The stories of her clients convinced “Susan” to come forward because she felt disgusted by “a systemic effort to prey on the most vulnerable in society.” She added: “It's really frustrating to see them taken advantage of like this.”
Not just in Wisconsin: Unscrupulous actors are targeting the most vulnerable in their ballot fraud operations
Wisconsin Statute 6.875 deals with absentee voting in nursing homes and assisted living facilities: It forbids staff members from helping residents fill out their ballots. Instead, two “special voting deputies” from each major political party, appointed by a municipal clerk or a local elections board, are mandated to conduct all absentee voting.
However, special voting deputies have not been allowed in assisted living facilities in light of the coronavirus pandemic. The Wisconsin Election Commission ordered deputies back in March to avoid visits to nursing homes over fears of COVID-19 transmission, with the order subsequently reaffirmed in June. As a result of this mandate, nursing home staff members or other individuals have been helping residents fill out ballots.
In the case of clients handled by “Susan,” the residents received the ballots already filled out with only their signatures lacking. Worse, unscrupulous staff members filled out absentee ballots meant for residents and forged residents’ signatures.
Vote fraud targeting the elderly was not only limited to Wisconsin: Two instances were documented in Texas, albeit outside assisted living facilities.
In late October, Project Veritas journalists managed to infiltrate a ballot-chasing ring in Bexar County, The racket involved operatives who develop personal relationships with senior citizens and convince them to vote for a certain candidate. Footage released by the activist group showed political consultant Raquel Rodriguez convincing an elderly voter to change her pick from a Republican candidate to a Democrat one.
Another case dating from 2016 involved a vote fraud ring in Tarrant County. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said the women involved in the racket harvested votes by filling out applications for mail-in ballots with forged signatures, CBS Dallas-Fort Worth reported. They would then either “assist” elderly voters with filling out the ballot, or fill it out themselves and deceive voters into signing the ballot return envelope. Four women who masterminded the racket were indicted on multiple felonious voter fraud charges in 2018.
Learn more about vote fraud schemes targeting the elderly at VoteFraud.news.
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