A California property manager is under investigation after he claimed he voted for Donald Trump six times using ballots sent to his tenants who had previously moved out.
The voter took to Reddit this week as early voting opened in California to respond to an r/WordAdvice conversation, saying he had received four ballots sent to renters who had not updated their voting addresses.
‘I voted for all four. NO on rent control. NO on school bonds. and… Trump baby,” he wrote. “I follow the Chicago rule of voting: Vote early, vote often.”
Local California news outlet KCRC reported that other Reddit users identified the person by his username ManCow2000 and forwarded his message to the FBI.
A California man is under investigation after he claimed on Reddit that he voted for Donald Trump six times
The property manager said he received four ballots sent to tenants who had not updated their voting addresses and used them to vote for the former president.
In his Reddit post, the user said he voted for Trump a total of six times because he used the four fraudulent ballots and also voted on behalf of his wife.
His identity was traced to Redding, California, and his mail was forwarded to Shasta County Clerk Tom Toller, who said SFGATE he alerted the Public Prosecution Service.
“A review of that social media post provided enough detail for my staff to take the claim seriously,” Toller told the outlet.
“This type of election fraud, involving the casting of more than one ballot, is particularly insidious because it dilutes the vote of every other registered voter in our county who legally votes on one ballot.
“We have referred this matter to the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office for investigation of a possible criminal violation of California Election Code Section 18500.”
It comes as Donald Trump has once again raised the issue of voter fraud affecting the election, just days before the polls close in the presidential race.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett (pictured) said her office has launched an investigation into the allegations
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett told KCRC that her office has launched an investigation into the allegations.
“Every election, my voter registration office receives allegations of voter fraud,” the district attorney said in a statement.
“We investigate each one, which often results in educating those involved in the electoral process about the tools available to them to ensure compliance with the law.
‘Where appropriate, we also pursue criminal charges for violations of the electoral law. The Registrar of Voters has referred the allegations against (the Reddit user) to my office.”
The landlord said Friday he was fired over the post, but insisted he “did not engage in any illegal activity” and made up the claim online.
He said his posts were hyperbole, “blown out of proportion” and “so fake.”
Toller said if it turns out to be true that the man voted fraudulently, he would have committed a federal crime.
“If the investigation determines that there has been election fraud, a further referral will be made to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as voting more than once is also a violation of 42 USC 1973i(3),” Toller said.
“The latter carries a federal prison sentence of up to five years, underscoring how serious the election fraud charge is.”