‘Betrayal’: Felony counts filed against elections judge over alleged voter fraud

An elections judge in the Kamala Harris-supporting state of Minnesota is facing up to 10 years in jail and a fine of $20,000 if convicted on charges in an elections fraud case.

A report in the Federalist identifies the judge as Timothy Michael Scouton and explained he is accused of allowing unregistered individuals to vote.

The report said the Hubbard, Minnesota, County attorney’s office has charged Scouton, 63, of Nevis, Minn., with one count of accepting the vote of an unregistered person and another count of neglect of duty.

He served as the head election judge in Badoura Township Precinct, in northern Minnesota, the report said.

A report for a wire service explained Hubbard County auditor Kay Rave was unable to find voter registration forms “among the ballots and other materials” submitted by Scouton.

Then, the complaint explains, “Another election judge told an investigator from the county sheriff’s office that Scouton directed them not to use the registration forms” and “another said Scouton told them that “new voters needed only to sign the back of a book.”

His next hearing in court is scheduled in January.

Scouton told the Federalist “while he would like to comment he has been advised not to.”

NEW: A Minnesota election judge is being charged with two felonies after allowing eleven unregistered people to vote.

AP/Star Tribune pic.twitter.com/h6BiFEJTSz

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) November 16, 2024

In a statement, Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon charged, “Election judges take an oath to administer elections in accordance with the law, a deliberate failure to do so is unlawful and a betrayal of the public trust.”

In fact, the National Conference of State Legislatures reports Simon himself long has been an ardent opponent of basic voter identification laws in elections.

The Federal reported following the “irregularity-plagued” 2020 election, Simon told lawmakers, “This country has seen a tidal wave of disinformation about our democracy, about voting and about our last election. These are lies designed to manipulate and mislead people. So here is the truth: the truth is that the 2020 election was fundamentally fair, honest, accurate and secure. Period. State and federal courts around the country have examined and reexamined allegations to the contrary and found nothing — no material fraud or misconduct.”

The Federalist report brought him up short with a blunt correction to that claim.

“That’s not true. There definitely was fraud and other election law violations in the 2020 election, as there is in every election. Case in point, Abdihakim A. Essa. The Minneapolis man in 2022 ‘was accused of intentionally making or signing false certificates when submitting absentee ballots in Hennepin County,’ according to the Heritage Foundation’s election fraud database. ‘Essa, a non-citizen, forged his father’s signature as a witness on the ballots. He pleaded guilty to four of the thirteen counts, all state felony offenses. He was sentenced to 180 days in an adult correctional facility; all but 90 days of this sentence was stayed pending successful completion of 2 years of supervised probation. He was also assessed $78 in court costs.”

Krista Knudsen, a Lake Shore, Minn., Republican in the state House, said, “I want to thank the Hubbard County Auditor for their work to catch this individual and for their vigilance in protecting the integrity of our election.”

Knudsen said, “The status quo is not working, and we need to take action next session to address these problems.”

There also have been allegations that during the 2024 election there were ballot printing issues, malfunctions and errors in counting, slow counting, missing ballots and more.