By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Two women have been arrested in connection with the theft of multiple ballots in Mesa County, District Attorney Dan Rubinstein announced Wednesday.
Sally Jane Smith, known by aliases Sally Maxedon and Sally Cline, age 60, from Grand Junction, and Vicki Lyn Stuart, age 64, also from Grand Junction, were arrested on Nov. 6, 2024.
Election crimes fall under the authority and jurisdiction of the local district attorney, although the investigation also included state and local law enforcement.
On Oct. 21, election officials at the Mesa County clerk and recorder’s office reported to the district attorney’s office that they had received what appeared to be fraudulent ballots in the mail.
When the elections officials were running the ballots that day, some of the signatures did not match the on-file signatures for the ballots, the district attorney’s investigation found. The people who should have signed the ballots were contacted and that is when the clerk, Bobbie Gross, knew something was wrong, they say.
She reportedly called the rightful voters of the ballots and those voters said that their ballots had been cast without the voters ever having received their ballots, the district attorney’s investigation found.
Some of them had gotten a message through Ballot Trax that their ballots had been received back at the clerk’s office, when they had in fact never received their ballots in the mail. At the time, there were 12 ballots that were identified as fraudulent, of those 12, three of the ballots went through and were counted before the fraud was discovered, the district attorney’s investigation found.
According to an affidavit for the arrest of the women, investigators discovered that the women came up with a plan to “test election integrity”, by stealing ballots to see if the voting machines would detect fraudulent ballots that were run through the machines and signature verifying process.
Much like Tina Peters, the women allegedly committed the crimes to try to prove election security breaches, the district attorney’s investigation found. Through forensic evidence, investigators were able to link evidence in this case to Smith due to prior felony convictions. Smith (Maxadon/Cline) was charged with six counts of identity theft, an F4 felony; two counts of attempting to influence a public servant, an F4 felony; and six counts of forgery, an F5 Felony. Coincidentally, she is a follower and regular commenter on the social media accounts of Sherronna Bishop, known as America’s Mom, who allegedly was involved with Tina Peters’ case to prove election security issues.
Stuart was charged with 16 counts of identity theft, an F4 Felony; two counts of attempting to influence a public servant, an F4 felony; and 16 counts of forgery, an F5 felony.
Through investigative tools and interviews, Investigator James Cannon, from the district attorney’s office, discovered someone who worked for the local U.S. Postal Service was involved in the treachery. Narrowing his search, again through investigative techniques and witnesses, he learned that USPS employee Stuart was the mail carrier on the route that had been compromised, according to the affadavit. Through the process of the investigation, evidence mounted as forensic evidence came to light. Evidence was submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations and fast-tracked through their processes, providing more evidence in the case.
In addition to Stuart, the name of Sally Smith came to the attention of investigators. When Smith was interviewed by law enforcement, she was asked if she had any friends that worked at the Post Office, the affidavit reads. She told officers that her friend Stuart worked there and that she had just spent time with her the night before being contacted by law enforcement.
During the initial contact with law enforcement, Smith told an almost unbelievable tale of conspiracy complete with claims that the CBI was involved, the district attorney’s investigation found.
She told investigators that she had been contacted by a man who worked for the CBI and whom she met randomly in a parking lot at Mesa Mall. She said that the man asked her to help him test the voting system. She allegedly reported that she got the ballots from the man, filled them out in her vehicle and then gave them back to the man. Later in the interview, she told investigators that this wild story was not true, they say.
When the women saw the media reports of the theft, they were concerned and made up a story.
Smith admitted, through the course of the interview, that she had not been honest with investigators because she was trying to protect her friend. She said she had known Stuart for about three years, and that she had allegedly obtained the ballots from Stuart.
Smith allegedly told investigators that the two women had begun their conversations in October 2024 and they decided to “test” the voting machines and the signature verification process. Smith told investigators that it should be obvious that Stuart was the one that allegedly stole the ballots since she obviously worked at the Post Office. Smith then confessed that she had filled out the stolen ballots and forged the signatures, the district attorney’s office says. Later, she allegedly met up with Stuart and gave her the completed (stolen) ballots.
“I am deeply grateful for the diligence and thorough efforts of the district attorney’s office in addressing this matter. I am proud our security measures are effective, and we will remain vigilant to safeguard the integrity of our elections,” said Mesa County Clerk Bobbie Gross.
She added that she and her staff are “committed to transparency and accountability at every step of the election process so that voters in Mesa County can have confidence that their ballots are secure.”