Vicki Stuart, a 64-year-old former postal worker, admitted in a plea agreement Monday to engaging in identity theft and forgery in the 2024 presidential election.
The accused admitted in court to one count each of theft and forgery, Colorado Public Radio reported. Authorities charged Stuart with 34 counts in connection to a ballot theft scheme. Stuart and another woman allegedly stole over a dozen ballots in Mesa County before they could be delivered to their intended recipients and fraudulently cast them. (RELATED: Group Helped Push Thousands Of Fraudulent Ballots, According To Arizona Election Officials)
“I feel like I am guilty for the part that I played in it,” Stuart told Judge Brian Flynn about why she accepted the plea deal. Both of the counts she pleaded guilty to were felonies.
Multiple voters informed authorities after the ballot tracking system showed them that officials were processing their ballots even though they had not yet received them.
Authorities claim election officials counted three of the stolen ballots as legitimate votes. Stuart was an employee of the U.S. Postal Service when the scheme occurred and had direct access to mail-in ballots. The other alleged culprit, Sally Jane Maxedone, is set to be in court Thursday for a hearing. Stuart will be sentenced on June 25, 2025.
If the identity theft was prosecuted as a class 4 felony, Stuart could be facing between two to six years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 for that count alone, according to the Colorado Legal Defense Group (CLDG). She also could be facing up to 3 years in prison and a $100,000 fine if the forgery was a class 5 felony, the CLDG’s website noted.
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