Mail carrier and friend spoofed stolen ballots to test voting security, authorities say

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO/Gray News) – Two women currently incarcerated in Colorado are accused of stealing ballots, altering them and then fraudulently sending them to be counted.

Fifty-nine-year-old Sally Jane Smith and 64-year-old mail carrier Vicki Lyn Stuart are charged with identity theft, attempting to influence a public official and forgery. ‘voting signature system for ballots used in elections,’ according to the arrest affidavit.

Their goal, according to the affidavit, was to see if forged signatures would be caught during the verification process.

The documents indicate voters are still being tracked and verified, but the alleged scheme may have had 20 or more victims.

Two suspects were tracked down because many of the allegedly fraudulent ballots fell on the same mail delivery route; It was a route confirmed to be temporarily assigned to mail carrier Stuart.

The documents also stated that Stuart interviewed District Attorney Senior Investigator Rob Heil. He said Stuart was the person who allegedly distributed ballots on that route.

Investigators also found that Stuart’s GPS location showed he was at the homes of known victims on Oct. 12, the day the affected ballots were supposed to be delivered.

Smith’s fingerprints were also allegedly found on a ballot deposited by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation; It was a ballot he would not normally have access to, as investigators determined he was never an employee of the United States Postal Service or the Mesa County Elections Department.

Arrest documents state law enforcement contacted Smith at his home.

During an interview with investigators, Smith allegedly admitted to filling out ballots that did not belong to him. He initially claimed the ballots were given to him by a man who worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and whom he “casually encountered in a parking lot,” according to the affidavit. He also claimed the man asked him to help test the voting system, so Smith responded by filling out ballots in his truck and returning them to the man.

“(Smith) even drew a map of where he met the CBI officer at the Mesa Mall and (he) showed where he parked,” according to the affidavit.

But Smith eventually admitted to authorities that he knew Stuart and that he had not been fully honest with the investigator; the documents stated that he was trying to protect Stuart.

The affidavit says Smith later admitted to investigators that he received the ballots from Stuart around the time the ballots began arriving in Grand Junction mailboxes.

Law enforcement contacted Stuart around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning and he reportedly said something like this: “You want to put me in jail just because I misdirected some mail?”

Bobbie Gross, clerk and recorder of Mesa County, published a statement regarding the investigation. It said in part:

“Mesa County election officials recently detected and successfully prevented fraudulent mail ballot attempts through our signature verification process. We immediately reported the situation to the 21st District Attorney’s Office, which led to the arrest of two individuals today.

“I am deeply grateful for the District Attorney’s Office’s diligence and comprehensive efforts in handling this matter. “I am proud that our security measures are effective, and we will continue to remain vigilant to protect the integrity of our elections.”

Stuart and Smith were held at the Mesa County Detention Facility.

Bond has not yet been set for either woman.

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