Ohio grand jury indicts man on 24 counts of election fraud

Grand jury indicts man in
voter-registration fraud

BY BRUCE CADWALLADER
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

An East Side man was indicted this week on charges that he requested absentee ballots and filed false voter registrations for himself and others, using a residential address that doesn't exist, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Wednesday.

But no one with any of the names he used voted in the Nov. 4 election, either absentee or in person.

Antonio Alvande, 36, of 532 S. James Rd., was arrested Tuesday on a 24-count indictment charging him with 14 counts of false registration and 10 counts of absentee-ballot fraud.

He is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Six other cases were forwarded to prosecutors by the Board of Elections last week, including one involving a woman who voted twice in different polling places and nonresidents who attempted to vote. More indictments are expected, O'Brien said.

In the Alvande case, O'Brien said the Franklin County Board of Elections flagged multiple forms before the election because they were from Apartment 326 at the same E. Broad Street address or were signed by the same person.

The address is a retail strip mall that includes a box-shipping store where Alvande rented post-office box 326.

A handwriting analyst confirmed that the forms were written and signed by Alvande, O'Brien said.

"This case is being prosecuted because of the signatures," he said. "Some people in this state don't think they are necessary" - a reference to statements made by Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

"Anyone who thinks that a signature is not necessary to deter or prosecute voter fraud is not living in the real world."

Meanwhile, Jeff Ortega, a spokesman for Brunner, said that Brunner "commends the Franklin County Board of Elections for following Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's directive to investigate any and all instances of voter registration fraud and to report it to the proper authorities.

"This is proof yet again that the policies and procedures are in place to give voters the confidence in our great bipartisan election system.''

O'Brien told the elections board this month to discard about 1,000 provisional ballots without a signature, saying it's required under Ohio law.

Five voter-registration forms identified Alvande by name at three different addresses; nine others referred to seven fictitious people he identified as Democrats.

Of the 10 applications for absentee ballots, one was in his name and nine used names and addresses of others. Two belonged to real people.

A post-office box can't be used as an address for voter registration, said Ben Piscitelli, a spokesman for the elections board. Voters must have a verifiable residential address before voting absentee and must show proof of address when voting in person.

Voter fraud through false registration is a felony in Ohio, punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

Last year, a Licking County man who emigrated from Haiti and had registered in both Licking and Franklin counties was convicted of voting twice in the 2006 election. Claudel Gilbert said he was confused when registrations from both counties came to him in the mail. He was placed on probation and paid a $500 fine in what authorities said was the first conviction for illegal voting in Franklin County.