California Woman Registered Her Dog to Vote

The Orange County, CA DA’s office has charged a Costa Mesa woman with illegally registering her dog to vote in California and casting mail in ballots in her dog’s name. The dog’s vote was successfully counted in the 2021 recall of Governor Newsom, but was rejected in the 2022 primary. 62-year-old Laura Lee Yourex now faces six felonies. One felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote. Per OC DA office: “Proof of residence or identification is not required for citizens to register to vote in California elections nor is it required to cast a ballot in state elections. However, proof of residence and registration is required for first-time voters to vote in a federal election. As a result, the 2022 primary ballot cast in Maya Jean’s name (the dog) was challenged and rejected. The 2021 election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters. The woman also posted photos of her dog on social media with an “I voted” sticker.