Criminal charges were filed Friday against seven individuals, including a regional director, following a yearlong investigation into suspected fraudulent voter registration forms submitted ahead of last year’s presidential election in Pennsylvania.
The investigation, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday, a Republican, concluded that the alleged fraud was driven by the defendants’ desire for personal financial gain and to keep their jobs, with no evidence of an effort to influence the outcome of the election.
The charges stem from activities in York, Lancaster, and Berks counties. The investigation began in late October 2024 when election workers in Lancaster County flagged approximately 2,500 voter registration forms for potential fraud, noting false names, suspicious handwriting, and incorrect addresses.
Director Accused of Instituting Unlawful Incentives
Guillermo Sainz, 33, of Arizona, who prosecutors described as the director of voter registration drives in Pennsylvania for the company Field+Media Corps, was charged with three counts of solicitation of registration. This state law prohibits offering money to reach registration quotas.
According to a court affidavit, investigators found that Sainz “instituted unlawful financial incentives and pressures in his push to meet company goals to maintain funding which in turn spurred some canvassers to create and submit fake forms to earn more money.”
Sainz, who managed Pennsylvania operations from May to October 2024, is accused of paying canvassers based on the number of signatures they collected. He allegedly told investigators he was unaware of canvassers being paid extra hours for meeting a target number of forms, a statement the police affidavit notes he had to be asked multiple times before confirming.
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Canvassers Faced Pressure to Meet Quotas
The six street canvassers face charges including unsworn falsification, tampering with public records, forgery, and violations of Pennsylvania election law.
Affidavits revealed that canvassers felt pressure to meet quotas. One canvasser admitted to creating fake forms to boost her pay, believing others did the same. Another reported that when she was not going to reach a daily quota, “she would make up names and information… due to fear of losing her job.” Prosecutors noted that the fraudulent forms included registrations across all party affiliations.
Companies Cooperated with Investigation
Field+Media Corps, based in Mesa, Arizona, was funded by Everybody Votes, an organization focused on improving voter registration rates in communities of color.
In a statement, Attorney General Sunday stressed, “We are confident that the motive behind these crimes was personal financial gain, and not a conspiracy or organized effort to tip any election for any one candidate or party.” The affidavit noted that Everybody Votes “fully cooperated” with the investigation and confirmed that its contract with Field+Media explicitly prohibited payments on a per-registration basis.
Everybody Votes issued a statement affirming, “The investigation confirmed that we hold our partners to the highest standards of quality control when collecting, handling and delivering voter registration applications.”
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Related Charges Filed in Monroe County
In a separate but related development, authorities in Monroe County late Friday filed voter registration fraud charges against three additional canvassers who also worked for Field+Media Corps last year. These defendants were charged with forgery, perjury, unsworn falsification, tampering with public records, identity theft, and election law violations.
Confusion Over Scale of Issue
The news of suspected criminal activity related to voter registration forms came at a time when Pennsylvania was a critical swing state in the presidential election. Then-candidate Donald Trump had previously seized on the news, claiming “cheating” involving “2,600” votes, though the issue in Lancaster related to about 2,500 suspected fraudulent voter registration forms, not ballots or votes.
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