In Cincinnati, Three 'Improper Voting' Charges Include a Poll Worker and a Nun

It will be interesting to see how much national play this story gets. My guess is: "little."

Following up on a matter on which I initially posted last month, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported yesterday that the prosecutor for Hamilton County, Ohio, where the county seat is Cincinnati, is bringing charges related to improper voting against three people – including a longtime poll worker and a nun. In connection with the poll worker, reporter Sharon Coolidge notes something that should earn today's prize for inadvertent deadpan humor (in bold):

Melowese Richardson, 58, Madisonville, (is charged with) eight counts of illegal voting, charges that carry up to 12 years in prison. Richardson – a poll worker when the fraud took place – is accused of voting twice in the November presidential election and on behalf of relatives in various elections. Board of Elections Director Amy Searcy said Richardson won’t be asked to come back.

Well, that's a relief -- though in some jurisdictions, Richardson's actions might merit her a promotion.

In my February post, I noted that the Enquirer quoted Ms. Richardson as follows:

"Absolutely. Absolutely, I'll fight it for Mr. Obama and for Mr. Obama's right to sit as president of the United States."

Some additional paragraphs from Coolidge's report (bold is mine):

Three people – including a nun and a longtime poll worker – are facing charges related to improper voting.

The three are the first charged out of a Hamilton County Board of Elections’ investigation that found a handful of people improperly cast at least two ballots that were counted in the November 2012 election.

“Elections are a serious business and the foundation of our democracy,” Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. “... individual votes may not seem important, but this could not be further from the truth.”

Those charged are:

• Russell Glassop, 75, Symmes Township, illegal voting, a charge that carries up to 18 months in prison. He is accused of voting on behalf of his deceased wife. She requested an absentee ballot, but died before the ballot was mailed.

... * Sister Marguerite Kloos, 54, Delhi Township, illegal voting, a charge that carries up to 18 months in prison. Kloos, who resigned last week as The College of Mount St. Joseph’s Dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities, told investigators that she filled out an absentee ballot for Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, another nun who died a month before last November's election. Kloos has agreed to plead guilty, Deters said.

None of the three could be reached for comment.

It would appear that Sister Marguerite thought she could, well, divine Sister Rose Marie's intended electoral selections.

With such things, one always has to wonder what hasn't been caught.

Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.