A 62-year-old California woman was charged Friday with five felonies for illegally registering her dog to vote and casting ballots in her dog’s name in the 2021 state gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s office.
California’s elections were significantly changed in 2021 after Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 37, making universal mail-in voting permanent and requiring counties to automatically mail ballots to all active, registered voters. According to a press release from the Orange County’s DA office, 62-year-old Laura Lee Yourex of Costa Mesa has been charged with one felony count of perjury, one felony count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two felony counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote, and one felony count of registering a non-existent person to vote.
In October 2024, the DA’s office was contacted by the Orange County Registrar of Voters’ Office after a resident allegedly self-reported that she registered her dog to vote. The resident claimed that she cast a mail-in ballot addressed to her dog, Maya, for the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election.
“The dog’s vote was successfully counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election but was rejected in the 2022 primary,” the press release states.
Per the California Elections Code, in order to register to vote in the state, a voter would need to fill out and submit an Affidavit of Registration, which includes the voter’s name, residence, mailing address, date of birth, political party preference and a certification that the voter is a citizen of the United States.
With proof of residence not required when dropping off or casting a ballot during an election, it is required when first registering.
“As a result, the 2022 primary ballot cast in Maya Jean’s name was challenged and rejected,” the press release states. “The 2021 election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters.”
Upon the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigation looking into the case, officials found “sufficient evidence” to file criminal charges against Yourex.
According to the press release, Yourex allegedly posted on her social media a picture of her dog in January 2022 “wearing an ‘I voted’ sticker and posing with her ballot.” An additional photo was allegedly posted on Yourex’s social media in October 2024, showing her dog’s tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption, “maya is still getting her ballot,” despite the dog having previously passed away.
Yourex is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 9 and faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
