Woman pleeds guilty to felony voter fraud, avoids jail time

[TimothyC]

Marguerite Kloos walked into court Tuesday as a nun who devoted her life to her religion. When she walked out, she was a convicted felon who escaped a prison term.

Kloos, 54, of Delhi Township, pleaded guilty to illegal voting, admitting to filling out and filing an absentee ballot for Sister Rose Marie Hewitt, Kloos’ friend who died before last November’s election.

In a brief hearing before Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Winkler, Kloos pleaded guilty as charged but was sentenced to the diversion program. If she stays out of trouble, usually for a year, her record will be erased and legally it will be as if it never happened. As part of that agreement, she also has to report to authorities periodically and perform community service. The charge carried a maximum prison sentence of 18 months.

Hewitt requested an absentee ballot from the Board of Elections in September. It was mailed to her Oct. 4, the day she died.

“When the absentee ballot was received at Ms. Hewitt’s address, (Kloos) opened the envelope, forged Ms. Hewitt’s signature, voted Ms. Hewitt’s ballot, and mailed the ballot back to the Board of Elections,” a court document notes.

After the allegation was made public, Kloos resigned as The College of Mount St. Joseph's Dean of the Division of Arts and Humanities,

Hers was one of three cases Hamilton County decided – so far – to prosecute from last fall’s elections.

Melowese Richardson, 58, of Madisonville, is in court Wednesday charged with eight counts of illegal voting. She was a poll worker accused of voting twice in the November presidential election and for relatives in various elections. Her charges charges carry up to 12 years in prison.

Russell Glassop, 75, of Symmes Township, is in court May 14, charged with one count of illegal voting. He also is seeking diversion. He is accused of voting for his deceased wife who requested an absentee ballot before she died.

It's a cut-and-dry case here - and I'm willing to bet that the main reason why Judge Winkler didn't put her in the slammer is because of the bad PR for throwing a 'nun' in jail.

[Flagg]

Only voter ID could solve this problem. Oh wait, it was an absentee ballot and showing a driver license wouldn't have mattered.

And yes, I pulled a CX.

[Crossroads Inc.]

So we actually have a REAL case of voter fraud, REAL voter fraud...
And it was a freaking nun doing it. Also "One of three cases from last year's elections"

THREE? After all this time they have only THREE Cases of voter fraud in the state?
Oh how I cannot wait to wave this in the face of the next Republican who screams "OMG Liberal stole election!!!"

[Pint0 Xtreme]

Heh. Yeah. And as Flagg pointed out, voter ID laws would have done jack to have prevented this. What a fucking joke.

[Dr. Trainwreck]

So all this screaming about voter fraud... and it turns out to be a case of a person who, by occupation alone, voted conservative with 99% certainty. Nice going, GOP.

[The Vortex Empire]

Not necessarily, a lot of American nuns are rather liberal and get in fights with the Vatican over church doctrine often.

[TimothyC]

THREE? After all this time they have only THREE Cases of voter fraud in the state?

Three cases they have brought up in Hamilton county, not the entire state.

So all this screaming about voter fraud... and it turns out to be a case of a person who, by occupation alone, voted conservative with 99% certainty. Nice going, GOP.

Uh, No. She was a liberal arts professor at a small liberal arts college. So, if I had to guess I'd say she wasn't voting conservative.

[Dr. Trainwreck]

Which means I'm officially an idiot, and way too sleepy to be posting. Sorry.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Hamilton County has 558,000 registered voters in a population of 802,000, including both rural, suburban, and urban (Cincinatti) areas, so a good US cross section. 3 prosecutable cases of voter fraud there, considering a 66% turnout in that election, works out to a 0.0009% rate of detected and prosecuted voter fraud in a fairly stereotypically average US county (since each case involved a single fraudulent additional ballot only).

[Edi]

There have been a grand total of 86 voter fraud cases since 2000 and most of those were people making a mistake about their eligibility rather than intentionally voting several times or voting in somebody else's name. Cases like this, less than a dozen all told.

So that's just more right wing scaremongering about the hordes of ACORN registered anti-American hordes bent on turning the country into a socialist Muslim utopia governed by Sharia law in the name of communism.

[Flagg]

THREE? After all this time they have only THREE Cases of voter fraud in the state?

Three cases they have brought up in Hamilton county, not the entire state.

So all this screaming about voter fraud... and it turns out to be a case of a person who, by occupation alone, voted conservative with 99% certainty. Nice going, GOP.

Uh, No. She was a liberal arts professor at a small liberal arts college. So, if I had to guess I'd say she wasn't voting conservative.

You know that "liberal" in "liberal arts" doesn't mean "liberal" as in me, right? Do you have any evidence of who this dumbshit voted for?

[Rogue 9]

THREE? After all this time they have only THREE Cases of voter fraud in the state?

Three cases they have brought up in Hamilton county, not the entire state.

So all this screaming about voter fraud... and it turns out to be a case of a person who, by occupation alone, voted conservative with 99% certainty. Nice going, GOP.

Uh, No. She was a liberal arts professor at a small liberal arts college. So, if I had to guess I'd say she wasn't voting conservative.

You know that "liberal" in "liberal arts" doesn't mean "liberal" as in me, right? Do you have any evidence of who this dumbshit voted for?

Do you? Her order would be a better indication of her leanings than the general fact that she's a nun. I live down the street from a Benedictine convent, there's a Benedictine monastery in the next town, and I've been employed in several capacities by the latter and know several nuns from the former. Publicly they don't speak of politics, but privately several of them are Democrats and not afraid to say so when not representing their institutions. Assuming that everyone in the holy orders is politically conservative is an error.

Not that it matters. Voter fraud is a grave (and thankfully rare) crime, and I don't approve of letting her off easy no matter who she voted for twice.

[Flagg]

You know that "liberal" in "liberal arts" doesn't mean "liberal" as in me, right? Do you have any evidence of who this dumbshit voted for?

Do you? Her order would be a better indication of her leanings than the general fact that she's a nun. I live down the street from a Benedictine convent, there's a Benedictine monastery in the next town, and I've been employed in several capacities by the latter and know several nuns from the former. Publicly they don't speak of politics, but privately several of them are Democrats and not afraid to say so when not representing their institutions. Assuming that everyone in the holy orders is politically conservative is an error.

Not that it matters. Voter fraud is a grave (and thankfully rare) crime, and I don't approve of letting her off easy no matter who she voted for twice.

I never claimed she was a liberal because she teaches at a liberal arts college, Sherlock. Poor Rouge.

[Rogue 9]

Do you? Her order would be a better indication of her leanings than the general fact that she's a nun. I live down the street from a Benedictine convent, there's a Benedictine monastery in the next town, and I've been employed in several capacities by the latter and know several nuns from the former. Publicly they don't speak of politics, but privately several of them are Democrats and not afraid to say so when not representing their institutions. Assuming that everyone in the holy orders is politically conservative is an error.

Not that it matters. Voter fraud is a grave (and thankfully rare) crime, and I don't approve of letting her off easy no matter who she voted for twice.

I never claimed she was a liberal because she teaches at a liberal arts college, Sherlock. Poor Rouge.

No, and I didn't say you did, but university faculty are more likely to be liberal than not by a very large margin. It's not a certainty, but it certainly isn't 99% certain that she voted conservative either, and disputation of that is what you took issue with.

[Flagg]

Do you? Her order would be a better indication of her leanings than the general fact that she's a nun. I live down the street from a Benedictine convent, there's a Benedictine monastery in the next town, and I've been employed in several capacities by the latter and know several nuns from the former. Publicly they don't speak of politics, but privately several of them are Democrats and not afraid to say so when not representing their institutions. Assuming that everyone in the holy orders is politically conservative is an error.

Not that it matters. Voter fraud is a grave (and thankfully rare) crime, and I don't approve of letting her off easy no matter who she voted for twice.

I never claimed she was a liberal because she teaches at a liberal arts college, Sherlock. Poor Rouge.

No, and I didn't say you did, but university faculty are more likely to be liberal than not by a very large margin. It's not a certainty, but it certainly isn't 99% certain that she voted conservative either, and disputation of that is what you took issue with.

No, I took issue with the idiotic "liberal arts teacher" automatically means she's a liberal. Because the school even has the word "liberal" in its name!

[Rogue 9]

No, I took issue with the idiotic "liberal arts teacher" automatically means she's a liberal. Because the school even has the word "liberal" in its name!

Where did anyone say that she was likely liberal specifically because she was a professor at a liberal arts college rather than because she was a professor? You're adding "liberal arts = liberal" into the post your own damn self.

[Flagg]

No, I took issue with the idiotic "liberal arts teacher" automatically means she's a liberal. Because the school even has the word "liberal" in its name!

Where did anyone say that she was likely liberal specifically because she was a professor at a liberal arts college rather than because she was a professor? You're adding "liberal arts = liberal" into the post your own damn self.

In the very post I quoted, idiot. No he didn't directly say it, but he heavily implied it. Illiterate.

[Rogue 9]

No, I took issue with the idiotic "liberal arts teacher" automatically means she's a liberal. Because the school even has the word "liberal" in its name!

Where did anyone say that she was likely liberal specifically because she was a professor at a liberal arts college rather than because she was a professor? You're adding "liberal arts = liberal" into the post your own damn self.

In the very post I quoted, idiot. No he didn't directly say it, but he heavily implied it. Illiterate.

No, he actually didn't.

[Flagg]

Uh, No. She was a liberal arts professor at a small liberal arts college. So, if I had to guess I'd say she wasn't voting conservative.

Let it be known henceforth that Rouge is an illiterate twat.

[Thanas]

How about you two get a room and screw each other silly? Lots of clearly unresolved sexual tension between you two.

Or, alternatively, just shut up.

[ArmorPierce]

No, he actually didn't.

Not to jump in or anything but it seemed clearly evident that he was connecting liberal arts professor + liberal arts school = liberal as opposed to mere being a professor.

Uh, No. She was a liberal arts professor at a small liberal arts college. So, if I had to guess I'd say she wasn't voting conservative.

Otherwise, why mention the fact that she is a liberal arts professor at a liberal arts college rather than just a professor at all? He didn't just mention it once, he mentioned it twice for extra emphasis.