Orange County Woman Faces Felonies for Registering Dog to Vote, Casting Ballots

Laura Lee Yourex, a 62-year-old woman from Costa Mesa, California, faces five felony charges after illegally registering her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote and casting mail-in ballots in the dog's name during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election. The dog’s ballot was accepted and counted in the 2021 recall election but rejected in the 2022 primary, partly due to California's election laws requiring proof of residence for first-time federal voters but not for state elections. Yourex self-reported the fraudulent activity to the Orange County Registrar of Voters, which triggered an investigation leading to the charges, including perjury, offering a forged document, casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and registering a non-existent person to vote. She publicly posted photos on social media of her dog wearing an "I voted" sticker and holding the fraudulent ballot, even after the dog had passed away. If convicted, Yourex faces up to six years in state prison. The case highlights vulnerabilities in mail-in voting systems and election verification processes in California.