US woman charged with registering dog to vote in elections

The suspect has cast ballots in her pet’s name twice, the prosecutors say.

A California woman has been charged with registering her dog to vote and casting ballots in her pet’s name in two elections, the Orange County Attorney General’s Office said on Friday.

Prosecutors said Laura Lee Yourex “self-reported” her actions in 2024 and now faces five felony counts. If convicted on all charges, she could serve up to six years in prison.

According to the statement, Yourex submitted a mail-in ballot under the name of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election, which was counted. She attempted to do so again in the 2022 primary election, but that ballot was rejected.

In 2022, Yourex reportedly posted a photo of Maya wearing an ‘I voted’ sticker on social media. Two years later, she shared another post showing the dog’s tag alongside a ballot with the caption “maya is still getting her ballot,” even though the pet had already died, prosecutors said.

California does not require residents to present identification to register or vote in state elections, though ID is required for first-time voters in federal contests.

US President Donald Trump has argued that mail-in voting enables election fraud, and has vowed to ban the practice before the 2026 midterms. California is among 19 states suing to block his executive order aimed at tightening identification rules and restricting the counting of mail-in ballots.

Image credit: Udine Tackmann