An elected official and another woman have been indicted on voter fraud charges following last month's municipal election in Lawrence, Massachusetts.
The office of Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said Wednesday that a grand jury had indicted City Councilor-elect Fidelina Santiago and Jennifer Lopez. Each faces the same 16 charges, including four counts each of illegal voting or attempt to vote; conspiracy to vote or attempt to vote illegally; unlawful interference with voters; and obstruction of voting.
Santiago won her race in District A on Nov. 7, according to the city's official election results, receiving 537 votes while her opponent, Vladimir Acevado, received 385.
Prosecutors did not immediately share details of the allegations against Santiago and Lopez, but noted that they investigated after a referral from the office of Secretary of State William Galvin regarding "concerning allegations of fraudulent voting associated with the November 2023 local election."
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NBC10 Boston reported last month that video appeared to show a woman removing ballots from the mailbox outside a Lawrence man's home. Galvin said he and the district attorney's office were looking into the incident.
"We're going to get all the ballots out of Lawrence, we're going to get all the mail-in ballots and we're going to review everything and all the provisionals and reconcile the list, and if further investigation contacting some of the people who allegedly voted by mail needs to be done, we will do it," Galvin said at the time.
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"I'm kind of sad, because it never should have happened this way," Acevedo said Wednesday. "If you take somebody's right to vote, we fail in this country."
Acevedo says it's critical that fair elections are taken seriously.
"I'm angry, but I'm happy that justice is working," he said.
"Interfering with an election not only undermines the legitimacy of government but erodes the public's confidence in the process," Tucker said in a statement Wednesday. "My office will vigorously prosecute individuals that threaten the integrity of elections."
Santiago and Lopez will be arraigned at a later date, Tucker's office said. It was not immediately clear if either woman had an attorney.
