JMU student gets 100-120 days in prison for registering dead people to vote

Graham Moomaw

Jun 27, 2017






James Madison University student Andrew Spieles leaves the federal courthouse in downtown Harrisonburg with his family and attorney, Gene Hart, after pleading guilty to voter fraud charges. Spieles, a 21 year-old student at James Madison University, submitted 18 fraudulent voter registration forms to the Harrisonburg registrar in connection with the 2016 presidential election.
A 21-year-old man who pleaded guilty last week to filing 18 phony voter registration applications in Harrisonburg will spend 100 to 120 days in prison, according to federal prosecutors in the Western District of Virginia.

Andrew J. Spieles of Harrisonburg admitted to filing the fraudulent registrations in August while working with Democratic-affiliated groups as a student at James Madison University ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The fraud was discovered after local election officials noticed that some applications had been filed in the names of dead people, including the father of a Rockingham County judge.

The offense was punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in prison.

Spieles told investigators that he fabricated the applications to help a co-worker hit a registration “quota,” according to court documents.

There is no indication any fraudulent votes were cast in November’s election as a result of the improper registrations.

— Graham Moomaw


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