A convicted felon who pleaded guilty in 2010 to writing a bad check had allegedly not waited until her civil rights had been restored before voting in the 2012 general elections.
Lindsey Anne Heitman, 31, of Albertville, was arrested Friday and charged with allegedly voting while knowing she is ineligible, and registering as an ineligible voter, both "crimes against the government," according to a criminal complaint filed by Wright County Attorney's Office.
Heitman was on a five-year probation after the felony bad check conviction, and would not be eligible to vote until 2015.
On Nov. 6, election day, Heitman checked in with her probation officer, Department of Corrections Probation Officer Truda Boler, and reported that she voted at Albertville City Hall. Boler reported to the Wright County Sheriff's Office that a felon had voted in Albertville.
Both the voter registration card and the election day roster contain a statement or pledge:
Read and Sign only if all Parts Apply to You. I certify that I: ...have the right to vote because, if I have been convicted of a felony, my felony sentence has expired (been completed) or I have been discharged from my sentence...
The maximum sentence for each charge of registering and voting while ineligible, both at the felony level, is five years in prison, $10,000 fine, or both.
Also, how does this affect Sorensen v. Barthel?
However, I don't know if that would prevent Mr. Barthel from filing any sort of complaint either in court or with the Secretary of State ... if the vote was indeed a game changer.
Love Lindsey
Also, she probably never even thought about the fact that she turned herself in. I bet it never crossed her mind.
What it all boils down to is personal responsibility, knowing the voting rules and participating (not many people know that if you don't vote over a four year cycle, you are supposed to be dropped from the registration log, although there was a person who had been dead over 10 years on the log). The real tragedy of this was cited above. While this individual will be charged, what if there is a 1% fraud rate? ~5,000 votes were cast at City Hall. And there was a tie for City Council. Do we see the problem here???