Couple Pleads Guilty To Voting In N.H. And Mass. During 2016 Election

[TexasTowelie]

By Casey McDermott


A couple who split their time between New Hampshire and Massachusetts pled guilty on Monday to charges that they voted in both states during the November 2016 election, but they told NHPR they only did so to avoid prolonging an already onerous court battle with the state.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s office indicted Grace and John S. Fleming in September 2018 on charges that they committed two election violations each: voting in more than one state and “wrongful voting,” which prohibits voting more than once for any one office.

The Flemings’ case was proceeding toward trial, with jury selection to begin on Monday, according to the AG’s office, but they instead reached a last-minute plea agreement. As a result of their guilty plea, the Flemings were fined $1,000 each, with a penalty assessment of $240, and lost their right to vote in New Hampshire. They were also sentenced to 60 days imprisonment, but that was suspended for one year on the condition of good behavior.

In an earlier interview shortly after the charges were announced last year, the couple told NHPR that the double voting was just an “honest mistake” — that they voted absentee in New Hampshire but forgot that they already mailed in their ballots when Election Day rolled around, and then voted again in-person in Massachusetts.

Read more: https://www.nhpr.org/post/couple-pleads-guilty-voting-nh-and-mass-during-2016-election

[safeinOhio]

1. Best part of the story....

Fleming, who identifies as an independent and says he voted for President Trump in 2016, says the state’s decision to bring felony charges against him and his wife seemed disproportionate with the nature of the underlying accusations, given that, as he puts it, they were cooperative and forthcoming with the state when first contacted about the situation.

“Our attorney said, yeah, they just wanted to make an example out of you,” John Fleming told NHPR. “Well, they made a fine example. They tarnished our reputation and destroyed our reputation. I've gotten hate mail. I've lost friends. It cost me over $12,000 in legal fees.”