Minnesota state agency says voter registration forms submitted with fake IDs did not lead to votes

A foundation paid for voter registration applications to be filled out with names of nonexistent people and submitted them to county election offices in Minnesota, according to federal charges against a couple.

Lorraine Lee Combs, 57, and Ronnie Williams, 58, who have had West St. Paul and Nevada residences of late, were charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis with conspiracy to engage in voter registration fraud.

They are accused of selling hundreds of voter registration forms they completed with fake identities in 2021 and 2022.

Combs and Williams, who are described in the charges as longtime romantic partners, were charged through a judicial process called information, which indicates to the court their intention to plead guilty.

The charging documents do not identify the foundation involved, other than to say it was engaged in a voter registration campaign.

“There were no ballots cast in connection with this,” said Cassondra Knudson, a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office, which oversees elections in the state.

On Friday, Knudson issued a detailed statement about how the scheme was uncovered and how her office determined that no fraudulent votes were cast in any of what she estimated were 10 to 15 counties where the suspicious applications were submitted:

“Local election officials then immediately reported the inconsistencies to law enforcement and our office. ... Our office coordinated with every county election office to ensure that all fraudulent registration attempts would be detected. Further, our office worked with local election officials to confirm that no ballots were requested or cast.”

In an interview Thursday with the Minnesota Star Tribune, Combs said she filled out roughly 500 forms as part of the scheme and turned them over to Williams.

Combs said she was “basically, just a third party” and did not know the name of the foundation. She did not say how much money she was paid.

She said she didn’t know how many applications Williams illegally completed or if any fraudulent voters were cast because of their actions.

Combs is scheduled to make her first court appearance on June 24, and Williams is due in court Monday. His attorney declined to comment about the allegations.

They would then sign a form certifying they understood that giving such false information was a felony with punishment of up to five years in prison or a fine of $10,000 or both.

On one application in September 2022, Combs used the name “Brad Montly” and “Harry Jhonson” about a month later.

Williams turned over the applications to intermediaries who gave them to the foundation, which “would submit these false voter registration applications to county election offices across the state of Minnesota.”

The foundation paid Williams for the applications, and he would split the money with Combs. The charges did not say how much money was involved, or specify which election offices received the applications and whether they raised suspicions.

“Election fraud strikes at the heart of our democracy,” Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said in a statement Friday. “Thankfully, the FBI stopped this fraud in its tracks, before anyone successfully cast a fraudulent ballot.”

“Our office is deeply grateful for the dedicated election officials across the state and all of our federal partners who protected the integrity of our voter registration system,” Simon said in a prepared statement released Friday.

Charges of illegal voting are filed from time to time in Minnesota, often involving people whose criminal records make them ineligible to cast a ballot.

Election contests decided by the narrowest of margins are rare, but they do occur. In November, two municipal elections in cities southwest of Duluth ended in a tie and needed low-tech solutions to determine the winners.

In Wrenshall, Mayor Gary Butala and challenger Jeff Bloom each collected 143 votes. Bloom prevailed when the City Council drew his name out of a hat.

In Kettle River, City Council candidates Patricia Lund and Laura Simi landed in a 33-33 tie. Playing cards were drawn, and Lund pulled the higher number.