And Democrats like to say that vote fraud is merely a figment of over-active MAGA imaginations.
Today, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced his office is charging a Costa Mesa woman with five felonies…for illegally registering her dog to vote, and then voting for her dog in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election.
The dog’s vote was actually counted in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, but not in the 2022 primary.
Laura Lee Yourex, 62, 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.
Yourex apparently turned herself in, according to a press release from the OCDA:
“On October 28, 2024, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office was contacted by the Orange County Registrar of Voter’s Office about a resident who self-reported that she had registered her dog to vote and had in fact cast a mail-in ballot she received addressed to her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, for the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election.”
Since state law requires that voters be human beings (at least for the time being), Yourex broke the law when she registered her dog – Maya Jean – and signed it under penalty of perjury. The OCDA’s press release did not specify the dog’s party affiliation, if any.
“Proof of residence or identification is not required for citizens to register to vote in state elections nor is it required to cast a ballot in state elections. However, proof of residence and registration is required for first-time voters to vote in a federal election. As a result, the 2022 primary ballot cast in Maya Jean’s name was challenged and rejected. The 2021 election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9% of voters,” according to the OCDA’s statement.
Yourex wasn’t exactly hiding what she was doing:
“On her social media, Yourex posted in January 2022 a picture of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker and posing with her ballot. Another post from October 2024, showed a photograph of Maya’s dog tag and a vote-by-mail ballot with the caption “maya is still getting her ballot” even though the dog had previously passed away.”
Yourex is scheduled to be arraigned at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster on September 9, 2025, in Department W12. She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.
Deputy District Attorney Heather Heslep-Morrissey of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
