SoCal woman registered her dog to vote, cast ballots twice, D.A. says

"An Orange County woman faces five felony charges after she was accused of paw-litical fraud by registering her dog to vote and illegally casting ballots for the pooch in two elections, authorities said. Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, allegedly mailed in ballots registered under her dog's name, Maya Jean Yourex, in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election, according to the Orange County district attorney's office."

"Yourex allegedly bragged about the feat on social media, sharing a picture of Maya toting an "I Voted" sticker and posing with the illegal ballot in January 2022, prosecutors said. In October, Yourex posted a photo of Maya's dog tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption, "Maya is still getting her ballot," even though the dog had passed away."

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, of Costa Mesa, allegedly registered her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote and mailed ballots in the dog's name in the 2021 gubernatorial recall and the 2022 primary elections. The 2021 ballot was accepted while the 2022 ballot was rejected. Yourex is accused of posting social media photos showing the dog with an "I Voted" sticker and images of a ballot and dog tag after the dog had died. She is charged with registering a nonexistent person to vote, perjury, procuring a false document, and two counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and faces up to six years in prison. The registrar contacted the district attorney after a resident self-reported the conduct.

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