TAVARES, Fla. — Election officials in Lake County say someone falsified dozens of voter registration applications, fraudulently changing some voters' party affiliations.
- 119 voter identifications were affected by the fraud
- Some voters noticed affiliations changed from Democrat to Republican
- Officials say it's the work of 1 person and they know who he is
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According to the Supervisor of Elections, about 119 voter identifications were affected. Early voting for the presidential primary begins Thursday in Lake County.
Elections Supervisor Alan Hays said the election fraud was first noticed a week ago when voters started calling his office, saying their party affiliation had changed from Democrat to Republican.
Hays and the Lake County Sheriff's Office say an investigation determined Cheryl Hall, 63, an employee for the group Florida First, filled out voter registration cards she received from the group that updated or changed voter information.
“Our research revealed several applications completed by someone whose handwriting was almost identical on each of those applications,” Hays said.
When the information on the card couldn't be verified, the supervisor of elections office sent out letters to voters, some of whom filed the complaints about their information being changed.
Officials emphasized it's not a computer hack, and they don't think this is any attempt on a grand scale to create voter fraud. They think it was the work of one person.
Hays says that there is a system in place to solve the issue at the polling centers.
“If they go expecting a Republican ballot and they are given a Democratic ballot, then we have a system to correct it and make sure they get a Republican ballot, and vice versa," Hays said.
The sheriff's office said Hall turned herself into the Clermont office on Thursday, and she was booked into the Lake County Jail on 10 felony counts of Submission of False Voter Registration Information.
Before voting, Lake County election officials say you can check your voter registration on their website to ensure your party affiliation is correct.
