A nun in southwest Ohio who voted on behalf of another nun who died before the 2012 presidential election has been charged with illegal voting.
The Hamilton County prosecutor in Cincinnati said on March 11 that Sister Marguerite Kloos, 54, was among three people charged with voting illegally.
Defense attorney Ralph Kohnen said Kloos was trying to fulfill the wishes of a friend who died before absentee ballots were mailed. He says she'll plead guilty.
If convicted she could face 18 months in prison, though such a sentence would be unlikely with a plea agreement.
Prosecutors say a 75-year-old man, Russell Glassop, faces the same count after he cast a ballot in November for his late wife. She had requested an absentee ballot but died before the ballot was mailed out.
Also, a 58-year-old poll worker, Melowese Richardson, has been charged with eight illegal-voting counts. Prosecutors say she's charged with voting twice in November and voting for other people in various elections. She could be sentenced to as much as 12 years in prison.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters told the Cincinnati Enquirer: "Elections are a serious business and the foundation of our democracy. Individual votes may not seem important, but this could not be further from the truth."
