Woman Registers Dog to Vote - Updated

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[Previous 6/22/07 post]
(Seattle, Washington) A 66-year-old grandmother, Jane Balogh, is scheduled to appear in court next week on a misdemeanor charge of making a false statement to a public official.

Balogh's offense is the result of registering her dog, Duncan M. MacDonald, to vote and subsequently submitting absentee ballots in Duncan's name, signed with a paw print, in three elections.

Balogh tried to illustrate how easy it is to register illegally. Somebody noticed and called her.

"You can't sign with a paw print," the election worker told Balogh on Nov. 9.

"I said, 'he can if he's a dog,' " answered Balogh, a 66-year-old grandmother and Army veteran who lives in Federal Way.

The election worker told her a supervisor would call, but she never heard from anyone.

However, the system caught up with her and she was charged with the misdemeanor offense of signing the dog's name on a registration card with a declaration that he meets all the voting requirements.

If Balogh pleads guilty, the prosecution will recommend no jail, 10 hours of community service, a $250 fine and the promise not to commit any other crimes for a year. If she doesn't plead guilty, the prosecution promised to charge her with a felony.


[Update 8/26/08]

(Seattle, Washington) Yesterday, criminal charges against Jane Balogh, 67, were dismissed. After all the legal wrangling, encompassing more than a year, Balogh ultimately paid $240 in court costs and served 10 hours of community service.

In summary, Jane Balogh received a hand slap. Her intentions to demonstrate that the voter registration process was easy to defraud, however, were accomplished. Her dog, Duncan MacDonald, was registered to vote, although no votes were cast, and the novelty of the prank garnered wide media attention.