Melowese Richardson, who admitted to voting twice in the presidential election this past November, has been indicted for voting a reported six times, according to Fox News. She has also been charged with voting illegally in 2008 and 2011.
Richardson works the polls in Cincinnati and was indicted on Monday. She faces eight counts of voter fraud. When speaking on camera to a local TV station, Richardson said, “Yes, I voted twice.” She was claiming she was worried her vote would not count. She also said that there “was no intent on my part to commit any voter fraud.”
“I’ll fight it for Mr. Obama and Mr. Obama’s right to sit as president of the United States,” she said in the interview.
Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Deters said during a statement announcing the indictment that, “This is not North Korea. Elections are a serious business and the foundation of our democracy. In the scheme of things, individual votes may not seem important, but this could not be further from the truth. Every vote is important and every voter and candidate needs to have faith in our system. The charges today should let people know that we take this seriously.”
The five other people Richardson cast ballots for are her relatives, according to prosecutors working the case.
Another person charged in the incident is Sister Marguerite Kloos, who faces one count of illegal voting. She submitted an absentee ballot in the name of another nun, Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, who died prior to absentee ballots being administered. Kloos has resigned as the dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati. She still works as an associate professor of religious and pastoral studies.
“As a valued member of the Mount community, our thoughts are with her during this difficult time,” the college said in a written statement. “We respect her privacy and will not comment further on this matter at this time.”
Also charged with illegal voting is that of Russell Glassop. He voted for his wife, who died the day before the election. Secretary of State John Husted ordered a review across the state of double voting and voter fraud.
“Every voter must play by the rules, and if they don’t they will be held accountable,” Husted said in a written statement. “For voters to have confidence in our elections, we must prosecute every case of voter fraud in Ohio. Most attempts are caught by the system. But there are cases that do slip through, as this one does, and we need to make sure that we really send a strong message, that if you do this, you are going to be held accountable. It might mean fines, it might mean jail time.”