[h=1][ Voter fraud... no need to guess what party she's a member of... ]
Rosen charged with two counts of voting illegally[/h]
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[h=3]WENDY ROSEN[/h] WENDY ROSEN
Posted: Friday, December 21, 2012 12:13 am
TOWSON - Wendy Rosen, the Democratic nominee in Maryland's First Congressional District who withdrew after allegations she voted in two states in two elections, has been charged with illegally voting in Baltimore County.
State Prosecutor Emmet C. Davitt announced Thursday that Rosen, 58, of Cockeysville, was charged in the Circuit Court of Baltimore County with illegally voting in Baltimore County.
The charges are a result of a joint investigation between Davitt's office and the Office of the State
Attorney for Pinellas County, Fla., which is the other county in which she allegedly voted.
Rosen is accused of voting in Baltimore County in the 2006 and 2010 Maryland general elections without the legal right to do so. The state prosecutors office said the charges are punishable by up to five years in jail and a fine of $2,500.
"Illegal voting is an offense that strikes at the very heart of the electoral process. Violations such as these will not be tolerated," Davitt said.
A lawyer for Rosen didn't immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.
Republican Congressman Andy Harris went on to win the election.
A former Republican, Rosen won April's primary election by 57 votes over Dr. John LaFerla of Chestertown.
She withdrew Sept. 10 from the race, citing personal reasons. But state Democratic officials said they demanded her withdrawal after discovering she had been registered to vote in both Maryland and Florida since 2006 and had voted in both states in two elections.
Rosen missed the Aug. 28 deadline to withdraw, so her name remained on the ballot for November's general election.
Democratic officials backed LaFerla as a write-in candidate in the race.
Harris won re-election in the November general election with 63 percent of the vote. Rosen garnered 28 percent, LaFerla 4 percent and Libertarian Muir Wayne Boda had nearly 4 percent.
Rosen's withdrawal came amid a national debate over whether voter fraud is a major problem, and whether the efforts of some states to require more identification may suppress turnout by the young, elderly and minorities in elections. It's unclear whether voter ID laws would prevent someone from casting ballots in two states for the same national election.
In May, Maryland became one of the first states to take part in the Electronic
Registration Information Center, a partnership between the Pew Center on the States, state election officials and technology experts that aims to use available databases to keep voter registration lists current, Donna Duncan, the state elections board's election management director, said. Duncan noted then that not all states were taking part in the initiative yet, and Maryland was still working to implement it.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.