Voter aide indicted in fake registration

1/6/2005

A Toledo woman employed by a national organization to sign up voters for last year's election has been charged with submitting a fraudulent registration card to the Lucas County Board of Elections.

Dawnte Thomas, 19, of 5555 Lewis Ave. was indicted by a county grand jury on one count of false registration.

Ms. Thomas was a worker for Project Vote, a national group that operated in the Toledo area as part of efforts to boost voter turnout in the November election, county prosecutor's said.

In August, the election board received a voter registration card submitted by Ms. Thomas that contained the name of a Toledo woman who already was registered to vote in the county.

Election workers questioned the validity of the registration when the signature on the new card was different from that of the old card and the birth dates were different, said Frank Stiles, an investigator for the prosecutor's office.

Ms. Thomas, who was paid $5 for each new registration she gathered for Project Vote, faces a possible one-year prison sentence if convicted.

Mr. Stiles said the investigation into other possible fraudulent activity involving Ms. Thomas or Project Vote is continuing.