West Virginia Attorney General issued the following announcement on July 9.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, U.S. Attorney Bill Powell and Secretary of State Mac Warner announced that a mail carrier has admitted to federal charges in the alleged manipulation of absentee voter requests.
Thomas Cooper, 47, of Dry Fork, pleaded guilty Thursday to single counts of injury to the mail and attempt to defraud the residents of West Virginia of a fair election. Cooper will be sentenced at a later date.
An investigator for the Attorney General gathered evidence for the case on behalf of the Secretary of State’s Office.
“News of the guilty plea underscores the strength of our case,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “Our team remains committed to protecting the integrity of elections in West Virginia. Our citizens deserve nothing less.”
“In West Virginia every vote counts and those that attempt to disrupt our democratic processes will be held accountable for their actions,” said Secretary of State Warner. “I am greatly pleased with outcome of the Election Fraud Task Force's effort to investigate and proceed with prosecution expeditiously to obtain a guilty plea of absentee balloting fraud.”
An affidavit filed in late May states Cooper fraudulently altered eight absentee ballot requests in Pendleton County, of which the complaint states he fraudulently changed the party affiliation on five from Democrat to Republican.
The affidavit, which accompanied the criminal complaint, states Cooper accessed the ballot requests through his employment as a rural mail carrier. He was responsible for mail delivery in the three towns from which the tampered requests were mailed – Onego, Riverton and Franklin.
According to the affidavit, Cooper admitted to altering some of the requests.
The alterations were caught by an elections official in the Pendleton County Courthouse and reported to the state’s Election Fraud Task Force.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner (no relation to the Secretary of State) is prosecuting the case. The West Virginia Attorney General’s Office, West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office and the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General investigated.
Original source can be found here.