A Pennsylvania man has been arrested after allegedly forging the signature of his dead mother on an application for an absentee ballot.
Robert R. Lynn, 67, of Luzerne County has been charged with felony counts of forgery and interference with an election, The Huffington Post reports.
Lynn, a Republican and Trump supporter, is accused of requesting an absentee ballot for his mother Marie P. Hannigan, who died in 2015. The application noted Hannigan’s reason for the request as “visiting great-grandkids Oct. 24-Nov. 10,” the complaint states, according to the report
Read More: Charlamagne Tha God credits Trump with ‘actually talking to young Black male voters’
The application was also flagged because the signature reportedly did not match the one on file for Hannigan in the database of voter information. Election officials notified county detectives of the suspicious application.
When questioned by investigators, Lynn initially tried to blame a relative before later confessing to his misdeeds.
This is the first case of alleged voter fraud in the county in three decades.
“There’s always going to be people out there who are trying to take advantage of the system or cheat the system, but most importantly, there’s people on the other side making sure that doesn’t happen,” Luzerne County Manager David Pedri said.
“I hope that this case really proves as an example to any individual who’s thinking that they can do anything with regards to this election. People are watching these things,” Pedri added.
Read More: Obama says he paid more in taxes than Trump working at Baskin Robbins
Lynn has been released on $10,000 unsecured bail. If found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly criticized mail-in voting, claiming it’s a “scam” and a “fraud.”
“They’re sending out tens of millions of ballots to everybody, people that didn’t expect them. People are getting inundated with ballots, they’ll be showered with ballots,” Trump said during a press conference last month.
“Everybody in this room knows it’s a scam,” the president continued, referring to the White House reporters. “They are never going to be able to count them.”
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!