By JOHN HANNA

A northern Minnesota woman accused of trying to send a mail-in ballot for her recently deceased mother has been charged with three felonies, showing how routine election safeguards prevent rare cases of attempted voter fraud.

Officials in Itasca County, about 200 miles (322 kilometers) north of Minneapolis, said Monday that the improper voting was caught because the state provides a monthly list of people who have died to election officials, who then flag those names in the state’s voter . registration database. The woman returned ballots for herself and her mother in early October, and the county auditor, who oversees local elections, quickly verified that the mother had died in late August, nearly three weeks before she began mailing out the ballots. for absentees.

The criminal case was filed last week in state district court in Grand Rapids as former President Donald Trump he continued to suggest he will only lose the November 5 election if his political opponents cheat. There was no evidence of significant voter fraud in the 2020 election, which Trump lost, and there is no evidence that Trump’s opponents can or will rig this year’s election.

The woman told a sheriff’s lieutenant in an interview that she filled out her mother’s ballot after her mother’s death, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in district court. The statement said the woman was an “ardent” Trump supporter who wanted to vote for him before she died.

Itasca County Prosecutor Jake Fauchald said the case shows that election officials can catch problems and even rural counties have the resources and desire to pursue voter fraud. Itasca County has approximately 45,000 inhabitants.

“It was flagged almost immediately,” Fauchald said. “We have ways to catch and flag these fraudulent ballots, and we’re going to do something about it so those ballots don’t get in.”

The woman’s first court appearance is set for December 4. She is charged with one count of illegal voting and two counts of making or signing a false certificate, accused of forging her mother’s signature, both on her mother’s ballot and as a witness. on your own. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

It was unclear if the woman has an attorney, and 10 online phone listings for her were unavailable. She did not immediately respond to a Facebook message seeking comment Monday.

Fauchald said it is the first case in the county involving voter fraud during the current election cycle.