A 62-year-old woman from Costa Mesa, California, has been charged with multiple felonies after prosecutors allege she fraudulently registered her pet dog to vote — and even managed to cast a ballot in the animal’s name.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Laura Lee Yourex registered her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, as a voter and successfully submitted a ballot in Maya’s name during the 2021 recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Officials said the ballot was counted because California’s voter registration system does not require proof of ID or residence.
The following year, during the 2022 primary election, Maya’s ballot was flagged and rejected. But by then, investigators say, evidence of the fraud had already been captured.
Detectives traced the case through social media posts, including a January 2022 photo of Maya wearing an “I Voted” sticker next to a ballot. Another post in October 2024 — months after the dog’s death — showed Maya’s tag placed beside a new mail-in ballot, with the caption: “maya is still getting her ballot.”
The Orange County Registrar reported the activity last October after Yourex herself allegedly admitted to the scheme. Prosecutors determined there was sufficient evidence to charge her with perjury, false registration, and casting ballots when not entitled to vote.
“This is a blatant violation of election laws,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
If convicted, Yourex faces prison time. Authorities did not reveal her political affiliation, but stressed that her actions did not alter the outcome of the recall, in which 62% of Californians voted to keep Newsom in office.
