Lady avoids jail for voting lifeless mom’s poll in Arizona

PHOENIX (AP) — A decide in Phoenix on Friday sentenced a girl o two years of felony probation, fines and group service for voting her useless mother’s ballot in Arizona in the 2020 normal election.

But the decide rejected a prosecutor’s request that she serve not less than 30 days in jail because she lied to investigators and demanded that they hold these committing voter fraud accountable.

The case towards Tracey Kay McKee, 64, is one among only a handful of voter fraud cases from Arizona’s 2020 election which have led to fees, despite widespread perception among many supporters of former President Donald Trump that there was widespread voter fraud that led to his loss in Arizona and different battleground states.

McKee, who was from Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale however now lives in California, sobbed as she apologized to Maricopa County Superior Court docket Choose Margaret LaBianca earlier than the judge handed down her sentence. McKee stated that she was grieving over the lack of her mother and had no intent to impression the end result of the election.

“Your Honor, I wish to apologize,” McKee informed LaBianca. “I don’t want to make the excuse for my habits. What I did was fallacious and I’m prepared to accept the implications handed down by the court docket.”

Each McKee and her mother, Mary Arendt, have been registered Republicans, though she was not asked if she voted for Trump. Arendt died on Oct. 5, 2020, two days earlier than early ballots had been mailed to voters.

Assistant Legal professional Basic Todd Lawson played a tape of McKee being interviewed by an investigator along with his workplace the place she mentioned there was rampant voter fraud and denied that she had signed and returned her mom’s poll.

“The one approach to stop voter fraud is to bodily go in and punch a poll,” McKee informed the investigator. “I imply, voter fraud goes to be prevalent as long as there’s mail-in voting, for positive. I imply, there’s no way to make sure a good election.

“And I don’t consider that this was a good election,” she continued. “I do imagine there was loads of voter fraud.”

Tom Henze, McKee’s legal professional, pointed to dozens of cases of voter fraud prosecuted in Arizona over the previous decade, many for related violations of voting someone else’s ballot, and mentioned no one bought jail time in those circumstances. He said agreeing with Lawson that McKee ought to do 30 days jail time would increase constitutional problems with equity.

“Simply acknowledged, over a protracted time period, in voluminous instances, 67 cases, nobody in this state for similar cases, in related context ... nobody got jail time,” Henze mentioned. “The court docket didn’t impose jail time in any respect.”

However Lawson stated jail time was important as a result of the type of case has changed. Whereas in years past, most instances concerned individuals voting in two states as a result of they both lived in or had property in each states, within the 2020 election folks had purchased into Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.

“What we’re hearing is voter fraud is on the market,” Lawson told the decide. “And primarily what we’re seeing right here is someone who says ‘Properly, I’m going to commit voter fraud because it’s a big problem and I’m simply going to slide in underneath the radar. And I’m going to do it as a result of everyone else is doing it and I can get away with it.’

“I don’t subscribe to that in any respect,” he stated. “And I feel the attitude you hear in the interview is the perspective that differentiates this case from the other cases.”

LaBianca stated that whereas she agreed with Lawson, ordering jail time would give McKee what she informed the investigator what she wanted: going after people who committed voter fraud.

“And if there have been proof that this crime was on the rise, and that heightened deterrence could also be referred to as for, the courtroom may order jail time,” LaBianca mentioned. “However the document here does not show that this crime is on the rise.

“And abhorrent as it may be for someone just like the defendant to assault the legitimacy of our free elections without any evidence, except your individual fraud, such statements aren't unlawful as far as I do know,” the choose continued.