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Year: 2026

Dead voter allegation fuels concerns about voting safeguards as blue state official turns herself in

Dead voter allegation fuels concerns about voting safeguards as blue state official turns herself in

Illinois GOP Chairman Bob Grogan is calling on a Democratic Waukegan city official to resign after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot, a case conservatives say exposes broader concerns about mail-in voting and voter-roll safeguards even though the ballot was caught before it was counted. A Waukegan, Illinois alderman, Sylvia Sims Bolton, turned herself in on Wednesday after prosecutors said she submitted her dead mother’s vote-by-mail ballot during a March primary election, which has resulted in two charges, including one Class 4 Felony. According to the Office of the State’s Attorney in Lake County, Illinois, a vote-by-mail ballot for Mary Sims, Bolton’s late mother, was issued in the first tranche of ballots to go out from the Lake County Clerk’s Office in February. Just days later, however, the same office processed the cancellation of Mary Sims’ voter registration after receiving notification of her passing from the Illinois Department of Public Health via the state’s Board of Elections voter registration system.  After the ballot was dropped by Bolton at an official ballot drop box, it went through the county’s established security and verification protocols, which flagged that the voter’s death record was processed prior to the ballot being submitted and ultimately spurred the sheriff’s office investigation leading to the charges against Bolton. PA WOMAN CHARGED WITH TRYING TO REGISTER DEAD PEOPLE, INCLUDING OWN FATHER, TO VOTE “A dead person voting, that you’re actually aware that they’re dead, is the easiest voter fraud to find. It’s like somebody leaning over the cash register and grabbing the cash out of the till,” Grogan told Fox News Digital. “But the complicated stuff, the behind-the-scenes stuff, that’s something that is harder to find … This is a one-off incident and if fraudsters do it right, it could be many, many more votes like this.” Election integrity advocate Jason Snead, who runs the Honest Elections Project, added that the Bolton case “plainly shows that voter fraud occurs.” “Mail ballots are especially vulnerable, which is why they should be secured, should never be mailed without a specific request from the voter, and should always be verified before they are tabulated. This case also shows how essential it is to maintain clean voter rolls,” Snead said. “Had the list maintenance process been slower, it is possible this illegal vote would have been counted before the fraud was discovered. Unfortunately, too many states — particularly blue states — actively resist commonsense safeguards, which begs the question: how many other illegal votes have slipped through the system?” A press release from the Lake County State’s Attorney Office indicated that “all ballot envelopes” get reviewed through automated systems designed to flag irregularities that may require additional review. Readability issues due to barcode problems, ballots being submitted for the wrong election, ballots that were previously rejected, and ballots associated with a canceled voter registration record, are all examples of irregularities that might be flagged. Other, less obvious irregularities, include whether a ballot is overweight or underweight. TRUMP CALLS FOR DOJ PROBE INTO MARYLAND MAIL-IN BALLOT ERROR, SUSPECTING ‘CORRUPT’ GOV WES MOORE TIES The investigation into Bolton, who represents Waukegan’s Ward 1, began in March, and she turned herself in on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for Rinehart’s office. She has been charged with one count of Mutilation of Election Material, a Class 4 felony, for allegedly knowingly falsifying election material, and one count of Disregarding Election Code, a Class A misdemeanor. If convicted on the felony count, Bolton could face one to three years in prison, though Illinois law also allows probation or conditional discharge for Class 4 felonies. The election-material charge also carries a five-year ban on public employment after completion of the sentence. A Class A misdemeanor conviction carries less than one year in jail and a possible fine. According to the State’s Attorney’s office, the investigation by law enforcement officials “did not uncover any facts linking these allegations to her city duties,” adding that she “is not charged with official misconduct.” Officials in the State’s Attorney’s office also noted that they were not aware of any previous investigations related to individuals trying to use the vote-by-mail system to cast a ballot on behalf of deceased individuals. Fox News Digital reached out to Bolton and her attorney, who declined to comment. “This case shows the importance of having a well-funded, independent Clerk’s office that also has state-of-the-art technology,” State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Clerk Vega and his team followed national best practices in order to detect and report this crime. We must say loudly to people that if you improperly vote for others, you will be caught, investigated, and prosecuted.”

WATCH: America’s first ‘formerly undocumented’ congressman delivers ultimatum at besieged ICE facility

WATCH: America’s first ‘formerly undocumented’ congressman delivers ultimatum at besieged ICE facility

The New York City lawmaker who describes himself as the first “formerly undocumented immigrant” member of Congress was defiant this week when he arrived at Newark’s Delaney Hall detention center waving a court order and demanding entry. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Washington Heights Democrat, was one of three Manhattan lawmakers who converged on the center Wednesday to demand the Trump administration shut it down and, in the interim, treat those held inside more humanely. “Shut it down,” Espaillat boomed, after spending some time inside Delaney Hall purportedly visiting inmates. When he arrived, Espaillat and his aides approached the entrance gate, and the lawmaker pulled out a document and waved it, telling guards who he was and that a judge had given him clearance to enter. DEM CONGRESS MEMBERS STORM NEW JERSEY ICE PRISON TO CONDUCT ‘OVERSIGHT VISIT’: ‘PEOPLE DESERVE DIGNITY’ “I have a court order here that allows me to come in. I will go in because the Constitution protects me,” Espaillat hollered to the people at the gate. Espaillat said he is also one of 12 plaintiffs in a lawsuit seeking to force DHS to allow lawmakers into any detention center, including privately operated facilities such as Delaney Hall, at any time without notice. The order Espaillat waved appeared to have District of Columbia federal court letterhead and included a line stating the case appeared before two Obama appointees, Cornelia Pillard and Robert Wilkins, and one Trump appointee, Neomi Rao, who replaced Justice Brett Kavanaugh on the appellate bench. The lead plaintiff listed was Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo. “I’m going to be introducing legislation that would allow Governor Mikie Sherrill and any governor or any state to be able to come and inspect a federal detention center like this. So I plan to do that very soon,” Espaillat said. He said any public official should be allowed into Delaney Hall to inspect conditions and claimed the majority of those being held are “working people” before briefly switching to Spanish. “They are not criminals they… have been ripped from their families and thrown in here,” he said. ICE FACILITY DEMOCRATS ‘STORMED’ HOLDS CHILD RAPISTS, MURDERERS: OFFICIALS Soon after he departed, Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Daniel Goldman arrived together, and spent close to two hours inside. Nadler began speaking out against conditions at the center before he even reached the microphone, alleging the “food is very sparse” and that inmates eat only at 4 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. “And very often, they eat maggots in the food,” he said, making an allegation denied by those on the other side. He also claimed medical services were limited and that inmates were waiting a long time for treatment, an allegation protesters also shouted at ICE agents later in the day. However, ambulances from a local Newark hospital regularly arrived throughout the day Wednesday and Thursday, appearing to contradict claims that detainees were not receiving treatment. “We know that they’re not getting any kind of justice because we know that the president is — these cases go before immigration judges. And we know the president is firing all immigration judges who grant asylum,” Nadler claimed. DHS SAYS FOUR HOUSE DEMOCRATS ‘CHOSE TO STAND WITH CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER VISITING ICE DETAINEE He then yielded to Goldman, who spoke along similar lines but, unlike Nadler, was repeatedly heckled by some in the crowd. A protester could be heard calling out something about the Israel-Gaza conflict — as both Goldman and Nadler are Jewish — while another man whom a protester verbally accused of being a “Proud Boy” began heckling Goldman about federal statutes that govern the ability to enforce immigration law. “I want to thank the advocates who are here every day fighting for the freedom of those who are unjustly and illegally being held in there. My colleague, Mr. Nadler, spoke a bit about the conditions. And they, I think, are easiest to be summed up as: this is criminal jail and none of these people are criminals,” Goldman said. DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TRUMP’S ICE IS ‘PRIMARILY GOING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING US CITIZENS’ He said he met with a man who had been in the U.S. for 23 years and has American-citizen children — but was detained by DHS when he showed up for a “green card interview.” “I don’t care what your view is on immigration policy or how you think that the policy should be. The bottom line is if you are human, if you’re American, you cannot support what is going on here,” he said. Goldman, an attorney who famously represented then-Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., during the Trump impeachment investigation, said the inmates have “almost no [legal] representation.” He suggested he repeatedly asked inmates if they had criminal records and routinely was told no. In turn, he used that recollection to slam the White House and a top Trump confidant who has been active in advising on immigration-related policy. “When Donald Trump and Stephen Miller say that this ICE deportation dragnet is going after the worst of the worst, they are lying,” he said. DHS SAYS ‘ARRESTS ARE STILL ON THE TABLE’ AFTER NEW JERSEY HOUSE DEMS CAUGHT ON CAMERA ‘STORMING’ ICE FACILITY Goldman accused Trump and Miller of intentionally creating dire conditions, such as those alleged inside Delaney Hall, that would lead inmates to opt for “voluntary departure” and self-deportation. As Goldman continued speaking, a man standing next to him began calling out and interrupting him, asking him to condemn protester violence. Goldman appeared unfazed but occasionally turned to admonish the man before he was confronted by another member of the congressmen’s security detail. The visit by the Manhattan lawmakers was less raucous, however, than another public official’s visit the previous day, when Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., was pepper-sprayed by ICE after allegedly interceding between the two factions on the street in an apparent attempt to calm tensions. Things did not cool off after the congressmen left, however, as pepper spray was again deployed Wednesday and Thursday

Hilton says Spencer Pratt campaign reflects growing revolt against California’s ‘one-party rule’

Hilton says Spencer Pratt campaign reflects growing revolt against California’s ‘one-party rule’

California Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton says the momentum behind his campaign and Spencer Pratt’s independent bid for Los Angeles mayor shows there’s a hunger among voters in the left-leaning state for outsiders. Hilton, a conservative commentator and former Fox News Channel host who is backed by President Donald Trump, emphasized in an interview Thursday on “Fox News @Night” that “something’s happening in California. I think people who aren’t here don’t realize how sick we all are of what’s been going on, the one-party rule, for 16 years now,” as he pointed to the Democrats’ longtime control of the state government. The candidate, one of the frontrunners in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, also spotlighted the campaign of Spencer Pratt, a reality TV star and online influencer-turned-Los Angeles mayoral candidate whose populist pitch to lead the nation’s second-most populous city is gaining traction. Pratt, a Republican, is running as an independent in the Democrat-dominated city. REALITY TV STAR AND INFLUENCER SPENCER PRATT GAINS TRACTION AFTER FIERY DEBATE “The energy behind Spencer here in LA, the energy behind our campaign up and down the state, we’re both outsiders. We’re very different, had different experiences, we were running different campaigns. But the one thing we have in common, we are outsiders. We’ve never run for office before,” Hilton said in an interview just days before California’s June 2 primary elections. Hilton argued that he and Pratt “are both there to shake up a system that is obviously not working. And that’s why our campaigns are resonating.” Pratt, who has focused his insurgent campaign against Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, is also backed by Trump. Pratt’s rise is fueled in part by his well-known status as one of the victims who lost their homes in last year’s devastating wildfires, when over 17,000 homes in Los Angeles County were destroyed, as well as his right-leaning focus on homelessness, crime and government accountability in a city long run by Democrats. WHAT SPENCER PRATT SAID ON ‘FOX AND FRIENDS’ Bass is attempting to fend off challenges from the right from Pratt and on the left from progressive City Council member Nithya Raman. If no candidate tops 50% in Tuesday’s nonpartisan mayoral election, the top two finishers will face off in November. In the governor’s race, the latest public opinion polls indicate Hilton, a former British political advisor and strategist, battling Democrat Xavier Becerra, who served as a Cabinet secretary in former President Biden’s administration, for the top spot in the primary, followed by billionaire hedge fund founder turned environmental activist Tom Steyer, a Democrat who ran for his party’s 2020 presidential nomination. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican, and former Democratic Rep. Katie Porter are also running for governor, as are Democratic candidates San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. The top two finishers in the nonpartisan gubernatorial primary will advance to the general election.

DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

DC’s baseball team faces potential DOJ probe after exec allegedly admitted to religious discrimination

FIRST ON FOX — Washington, D.C.’s professional baseball franchise could come under Justice Department scrutiny after a viral video showed a team executive appearing to admit to his religious discrimination against a Christian player. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., is urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon to investigate alleged religious discrimination against players for the Washington Nationals, according to a letter sent Thursday to and first obtained by Fox News Digital. The letter comes after Project Veritas founder James O’Keefe published a secretly recorded video of Washington Nationals Director of Community Relations Sean Hudson saying the team does not include pitcher Trevor Williams in certain social media promotion. He cited the player’s public criticism of another Major League Baseball franchise for hosting a drag group mocking Catholics. EXCLUSIVE: KENTUCKY BARISTA TAKES LEGAL ACTION AFTER TERMINATION, CLAIMS SHE WAS FIRED FOR SHARING HER FAITH “According to the reporting by James O’Keefe, it appears the Washington Nationals are engaged in unlawful religious discrimination,” Boebert told Fox News Digital in a written statement. “I urge the DOJ to take immediate and decisive action.” A spokesperson for the Justice Department said they received Boebert’s letter.  “The Department is reviewing the matter and will evaluate all appropriate next steps. As always, we remain committed to enforcing federal law and protecting civil rights,” they told Fox News Digital.  A spokesperson for the Washington Nationals did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  Hudson, in the clandestine recording, pointed to Williams’ public objections to the Los Angeles Dodgers honoring the Sisterhood of Perpetual Indulgence — a drag group that dresses as nuns — during the team’s 2023 “Pride Night. The event also drew condemnation from multiple Catholic bishops, who described it as “blasphemous.” Williams said he found the group’s anti-Catholic demonstration featuring vulgar caricatures of the crucifixion and sacred rituals to be “deeply offensive,” in an interview with Bishop Robert Barron last year. The professional baseball player said he made the decision with his wife to speak out even though it would put “a target on our back.” “Baseball stadiums should be a place where everyone feels welcomed, like 100%,” Williams said in the interview. “We should all feel welcomed there. But that was clearly against one certain religion. If you don’t draw the line in the sand, who’s gonna do it?”   According to Hudson, that public criticism of the drag group’s performance later affected Williams’ opportunities at the Nationals franchise.  “Because of that we don’t use him on social [media],” Hudson told an undercover journalist in the video. “When they’re like ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ and the players come up, we don’t ask him.” CONGRESSMAN SAYS MLB IS OUSTING TREVOR BAUER DUE TO TRUMP SUPPORT, IN LETTER TO ROB MANFRED Boebert said she is concerned that Hudson’s admission could mean the franchise violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on religion and other protected classes.  “Americans of faith should not face professional repercussions for objecting to the mockery of their sacred traditions,” the Colorado Republican said in the letter. “MLB’s privileged legal position should not become a license for exclusionary practices.” Hudson, in the video, described himself as “far-left leaning” and nonreligious. Meanwhile, he called Williams “super Catholic.” The Washington Nationals executive also boasted about a Communist Party poster in his office and mused about pushing redistribution of wealth and other leftist agendas during baseball games at Nationals Park in Southeast Washington, D.C. “What a cool opportunity for us [Nationals] to also, be a little bit of like, the voice of reason,” Hudson said. “And a lot of people will tell you when I come to a baseball game, I don’t want to think about that s–t.” “If you’re a sports fan and we piss you off, where else are you gonna go,” he went on. “I don’t give a sh–t.”

WATCH: Talarico embraces ‘freaky’ identity as crowds chant name meant as insult: ‘So weird’

WATCH: Talarico embraces ‘freaky’ identity as crowds chant name meant as insult: ‘So weird’

Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is fully embracing his “Talafreako” moniker given to him by Republican opponent Ken Paxton and is even selling T-shirts with the slogan “I’m a Talafreako.” While speaking at a general election kickoff event in Houston this week, Talarico encouraged supporters to purchase a T-shirt, saying, “I also saw that Ken Paxton started calling me ‘Talafreako,’ and I am proud to announce that we have ‘I’m a Talafreako’ T-shirts on our website. So, when you go home tonight, make sure you grab one.” After Talarico exited the stage, the crowd at the Houston rally began chanting “Talafreako” repeatedly. Despite the bravado, some believe that, with Talarico already having to deal with a series of highly controversial resurfaced comments, the move will backfire with moderate Texas voters. Talarico’s prior comments include saying that “God is nonbinary,” that there are six genders and that the Bible supports abortion. ‘GOD IS NON-BINARY’: TEXAS DEM NOMINEE TALARICO’S PAST REMARKS ON ABORTION, RACE AND GENDER DRAW SCRUTINY A strategist familiar with the Senate race remarked to Fox News Digital that “Talarico can’t run from his record of supporting every freaky left-wing policy under the sun.” “Selling merch that says ‘Talafreako’ on it is just going to remind people that he is on the wrong side of every 80/20 issue,” the strategist said, adding, “It’s so weird.” Commenting on a clip of Talarico saying in an interview, “I love” transgender-identifying children, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., posted on X, “Talarico was constructed in a Woke Lab. In the end, that dog won’t hunt.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is now set to become the state’s senior senator, posted on X, “Texas will never elect someone who thinks God is nonbinary.” DEMOCRAT RISING STAR CALLED OUT FOR ‘CREEPY’ COMMENT ABOUT TRANSGENDER CHILDREN Despite this, not all believe embracing Talafreako will backfire. Eric Koch, founder of Downfield Strategies, told Fox News Digital that he “love[s]” the Talarico campaign “co-opting” the jab. “There were a lot of people wondering if James Talarico can throw a punch. In the first 24 hours of the general election, James made the case that Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in the country and called him out for giving Epstein-style sweetheart deals to pedophiles,” said Koch. He added that the Democratic candidate “can throw a punch and will make this race a choice between himself and Paxton.” During the kickoff rally in Houston, Talarico ripped Paxton as the “most corrupt politician in America,” who he said, “Has sold us out for years.” If elected, he pledged that his first move in the Senate would be to file a “comprehensive anti-corruption package,” which he said would include a ban on “unlimited donations” from corporate political action committees and super PACs, as well as banning congressional stock trading, instituting term limits and establishing a national ban on gerrymandering. He also said the package would include a measure to “overhaul” the Supreme Court. JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’ He addressed some of the criticisms already being lodged against him, saying, “They’re going to throw everything they’ve got at us. They’ve already called me a radical leftist. They’ve already called me a fake Christian. They’ve even called me a vegan. And those are fighting words in the state of Texas.” “They’re going to call us a threat,” he continued. “The only truth out of all of those lies is that we are a threat. We’re a threat to their corrupt system.” Speaking on MS NOW, Talarico asserted, “Ken Paxton has a criminal record. I have a legislative record.” He touted himself as a bipartisan legislator, saying, “For over 4 terms in the Texas House of Representatives, I have brought Democrats and Republicans together to pass more than 60 bipartisan bills to cut property taxes, to raise teacher pay, to lower the cost of housing, prescription drugs, and childcare across Texas — and I’m gonna put that record up against Ken Paxton’s criminal record any day of the week, twice on Sunday.” Paxton, meanwhile, has cast Talarico as too progressive, posting on X on Thursday that “James Talarico is too radical for California, let alone Texas.” Fox News Digital reached out to Paxton and Talarico’s campaigns for additional comment.