Republican Election Official in Upstate New York Charged With Absentee-Ballot Fraud

A Republican elections commissioner for upstate Rensselaer County in New York was arrested Tuesday on charges he unlawfully used the names and dates of birth of voters to fraudulently apply for absentee ballots. Court documents allege Jason Schofield, 42, applied for absentee ballots in the names of people who had no interest in voting in 2021 or who did not request absentee ballots. They did not know Schofield was using their personal information. “In some of these instances, according to the indictment, Schofield also took possession of the absentee ballots issued to these voters, brought the ballots to the voters, and had the voters sign absentee ballot envelopes but not actually vote,” a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Albany read. “This allowed Schofield or another person to cast votes in these voters’ names, in Rensselaer County’s primary and general elections held in 2021.” Schofield was ordered released on his own recognizance pending trial. Schofield faces as much as five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of up to three years on each of the 12 counts he faces. Schofield “maintains his innocence,” his lawyer Danielle Neroni told the New York Daily News.