Even the postal service struggles with election integrity.Two Colorado women are facing charges in connection with an alleged ballot fraud scheme that has raised concerns about election integrity. Vicki Lyn Stuart and Sally Jane Maxedon, mail carriers for the United States Postal Service, have been arrested for alleged ballot fraud. The suspects are facing felony charges for forgery, identity theft, and attempting to influence a public servant.
Ballot Theft Scheme Revealed
Colorado’s election integrity has been called into question following the arrest of USPS mail carrier Vicki Lyn Stuart and her friend Sally Jane Maxedon. The pair is accused of intercepting and casting forged mail-in ballots prior to the 2024 election, resulting in reports of missing ballots rejected due to signature discrepancies. The investigation began on October 21, when residents who had not submitted or received ballots were notified of signature discrepancies.
Investigators discovered no evidence of forced entry into secured mailbox clusters, implying that the fraud originated within the postal system. Stuart allegedly marked ballots as “return to sender” if the names did not match the mailboxes, violating USPS protocol. Maxedon initially admitted to filling out ballots that were not hers, but later confessed to a scheme with Stuart to test signature verification.
Colorado postal carrier and a friend accused of forging stolen mail ballots to test voting secu – https://t.co/A8M5rCkh38
— Private Officer (@privateofficer) November 11, 2024
Scope of the Fraud
The 21st District Attorney’s Office has identified at least 16 victims of the breach, with many more suspected. Nine ballots were discarded for fraud, but three were processed and counted before the scheme was discovered. The investigation is ongoing, and more than 20 potential ballot theft victims have been identified.
“A postal worker and her friend were arrested Wednesday in connection with the forging of stolen mail ballots in an alleged attempt to test the security of Colorado’s voting system, according to court documents.”
Colorado primarily uses mail voting, which is generally regarded as safe and convenient, with signature verification to ensure legitimacy. Despite officials’ claims that the incident demonstrates the effectiveness of existing safeguards, it has raised concerns about the system’s security.
NEW: Election staff and officials identified "at least 12" ballots in Mesa County that were intercepted and sent in without the knowledge of the actual voters. https://t.co/0aCngHmeL0 pic.twitter.com/7QpRm4b9D2
— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@KDVR) October 24, 2024
Legal Consequences and Reactions
Both Stuart and Maxedon are now facing multiple felony charges for forgery, identity theft, and attempting to influence a public servant. Stuart has been placed on “emergency, non-duty status” by the United States Postal Service while the investigation is ongoing.
Mesa County officials see this incident as evidence of the effectiveness of election security measures. However, Mesa County has a history of election-related issues, including a recent data breach scheme involving former county clerk Tina Peters. The Colorado Sun highlighted the incident to address election integrity skeptics, citing Stuart’s Republican registration and the small scale of the fraud in comparison to total votes cast.
Democrats have also faced election interference issues. Jena Griswold has yet to comment on the “mistaken” posting of election machine passwords on the Secretary of State website, which was discovered in late October.
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