Michael “Ozzie” Myers, a former Democrat lawmaker from Philadelphia, was indicted on a slew of voter fraud-related charges earlier this week, according to the Justice Department.
Myers was indicted on charges of “conspiring to violate voting rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes for specific candidates in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections, bribery of an election official, falsification of records, voting more than once in federal elections, and obstruction of justice,” according to a statement by the Justice Department on Thursday.
“Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If only one vote has been illegally rung up or fraudulently stuffed into a ballot box, the integrity of that entire election is undermined,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in a release issued by the DOJ. “Votes are not things to be purchased and democracy is not for sale. If you are a political consultant, election official, or work with the polling places in any way, I urge you to do your job honestly and faithfully. That is what the public deserves, it is what democracy demands, and it is what my office will enforce.”
Politico reports that Myers served as the representative for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District from November 1976 until October 1980. He became the first lawmaker to be expelled from the House of Representatives since the Civil War after he was involved in “Abscam,” a FBI sting operation.
He was convicted of bribery and conspiracy charges, and sentenced to serve three years in prison in 1981.
Now, he is charged with “conspiring with and bribing” former Philadelphia Judge of Elections Domenick Demuro.
Demuro pleaded guilty in March and was convicted in May for “his role in accepting bribes to cast fraudulent ballots and certifying false voting results during the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections” in the city, according to the Justice Department.
Myers is charged with bribing Demuro to illegally add votes for certain candidates in primary elections, according to the Justice Department. Some candidates were running for judicial office and their campaigns had hired Myers. Others were candidates that Myers liked.
According to the indictment, Myers would solicit payments from his clients as “consulting fees,” and then use portions of these funds to pay Demuro and others in return for altering election results.
After receiving payments ranging from between $300 to $5,000 per election from the consultant, the court papers allege Demuro would add fraudulent votes on the voting machine, also known as “ringing up” votes, for Myers’ candidates.
At Myers’ direction, Demuro would add fraudulent votes to the Election Day totals, and then would falsely certify that the voting machine results were accurate.
Myers is also accused of telling Demuro to lie about the circumstances of the bribes and the ballot-stuffing scheme to investigators.
Myers’ indictment comes during a debate over whether mail-in ballots will lead to voter fraud ahead of the presidential election in November.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, lawmakers have pushed for expanded voter options. President Donald Trump has vehemently opposed vote-by-mail ballots and has suggested they will lead to a rigged election.
In addition to Myers, there have been several recent examples of voter fraud.
Last week, Rep. Steve Watkins, R-Kan., was charged with three felony counts of voter fraud related to the 2019 municipal elections. Last year, an election for a North Carolina House seat was tossed out after a GOP operative was found to have illegally collected ballots.
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