Des Moines police charge Trump supporter in voter fraud case
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Des Moines police have charged a woman with election misconduct, a Class D felony, after officials reported she voted twice.
Des Moines police Sgt. Paul Parizek says officers charged 55-year-old Terri Rote with first-degree election misconduct on Thursday after being notified by elections officials that she had submitted two absentee ballots.
According to an Iowa Public Radio report, Rote voted two times for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“I wasn’t planning on doing it twice, it was spur of the moment,” Rote said in an interview with the radio station before she added an oft-repeated line on the Trump campaign trail: “The polls are rigged.”
She was booked into the Polk County Jail and released after posting a $5,000 bond.
Polk County Attorney John Sarcone says it one of the few examples he’s seen of alleged voter fraud in his more than 25 years as a prosecutor.
“This [is] maybe the third [time] we’ve had some irregularity that’s resulted in a criminal charge,” Sarcone told the Iowa radio station. “People aren’t voting more than once. And if they do, or attempt to do it, they will get caught because there are safeguards in place.”
Trump has said several times without proof during this campaign cycle that “the election is rigged,” and he’s even encouraged his supporters to monitor the polls come Election Day because of his unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud.
A preliminary hearing for Rote is set for Nov. 7.
Rote is registered as a Republican.