California Woman Faces Unique Penalty After Registering Dog to Vote
A California woman who registered her dog to vote must pay for billboards warning against election fraud as part of a plea deal to dismiss felony charges.
POLICY WIRE — Orange County, USA — A 64-year-old California resident has reached a resolution in a criminal case involving the illegal registration of her pet to participate in state elections.
Laura Lee Yourex faced five felony charges after authorities discovered she had registered her dog, Maya Jean, to vote. The investigation revealed that Yourex submitted five mail-in ballots across the 2021 state recall election and the 2022 primary election.
Prosecutors confirmed that while the dog’s ballot was successfully counted during the 2021 recall, the attempt failed during the 2022 primary. The scheme came to light after Yourex contacted the Orange County Registrar of Voters to disclose her actions and shared details of the plan on social media.
Under the terms of a plea agreement, Yourex avoided felony prosecution by agreeing to a creative form of restitution. She paid $1,500 to sponsor four billboards throughout Orange County that feature a photograph of Maya Jean wearing an I voted sticker.
The advertisements display the message Don’t be a dog, serving as a public warning that voter fraud is a serious crime. The billboards also provide information on how residents can report suspected election misconduct to the District Attorney’s office.
The displays are scheduled to remain visible to the public through the November election. Following the installation of the billboards, a misdemeanor charge to which Yourex had previously pleaded guilty was dismissed by prosecutors.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
