Costa Mesa woman registered her dog to vote and submitted ballots twice, DA says

COSTA MESA, Calif. (KABC) -- A Costa Mesa woman is facing felony charges for allegedly registering her dog to vote and using the pet's name to vote in two elections, prosecutors said Friday.

Laura Lee Yourex, 62, is accused of using her dog's name to vote in the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election, according to a statement from the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Mail-in ballots were used to cast the votes, prosecutors allege.

The 2021 vote was successfully counted, but the vote in 2022 was rejected, the statement said.

Prosecutors say Yourex posted a photo on social media in January 2022 of her dog, Maya, wearing "an 'I voted' sticker and posing with her ballot."

Yourex is also accused of posting a photo in October 2024 that shows "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."

The DA's office was notified about Yourex when she allegedly contacted the Orange County Registrar of Voter's Office and "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."

An investigation by the DA's office found sufficient evidence to filed charges.

Yourex is charged with one count of perjury, one count of procuring or offering a false or forged document to be filed, two counts of casting a ballot when not entitled to vote and one count of registering a non-existent person to vote.

She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted on all counts.