Pennsylvania Trump Supporter Bruce Bartman Charged With Voter Fraud

Bruce Bartman, a Pennsylvania native and Trump supporter, has been charged with illegally casting a ballot for Donald Trump in the name of his deceased mother, authorities announced on Monday.

Bartman faces two felony counts of perjury and one count of unlawful voting, casting an absentee ballot in the name of Elizabeth Bartman.

Bartman admitted he was able to register his dead mother to vote online and request an absentee ballot on her name, which he filled out and submitted, District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer told reporters at a news conference. He was also able to obtain an absentee ballot in the name of his deceased mother-in-law but did not submit the ballot in her name.

Local investigators claimed they began investigating when rumors of a ballot being illegally cast were circulating on social media. A complaint against this ballot was eventually filed to the Delaware County Board of Elections and a task force was able to find evidence of fraud.

Since Pennsylvania and other states were projected for President-elect Joe Biden several days after the election, Trump and his supporters have claimed without evidence that widespread voter fraud led to a “rigged” election against the president.

“For all the conspiracy theorists out there, this case today does not represent widespread voter fraud,” District Attorney Stollsteimer said. “This case has evidence that one person committed voter fraud by casting an improper and illegal ballot.”

Election officials in Pennsylvania have said there is no concrete evidence of widespread voter fraud and state courts have dismissed lawsuits enacted by the Trump administration.

According to Tanner Rouse, Assistant District Attorney and the lead of the task force, “In the hundred of calls we received and the hundreds of visits we made, we only found one instance of malfeasance, and that was Mr. Bartman, and he will be prosecuted.”

Bartman was arraigned on Friday and is out on bail.

“In his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid, and for that he is very sorry,” said Bartman’s lawyer, Samuel Stretton.