An Orange County dog voted in multiple elections. Why that matters in bitter redistricting fight

The two Republicans on the Orange County Board of Supervisors are calling for an urgent purging of the county’s voter rolls to make sure only … humans … can cast ballots in the upcoming statewide election over congressional redistricting.

Yes, you read that right.

Umm, why?

Because a woman named Laura Lee Yourex, 62, from Costa Mesa, registered her dog, Maya Jean, to vote, and the dog, presumably with its owner’s help, actually voted in the 2021 recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the 2022 primary. The Orange County district attorney announced criminal charges Friday against Yourex, who self-reported the fraudulent voting.

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How we got here

Proponents of stricter requirements for voter identification point to incidents like this as evidence that it's easy to skirt California’s voting rules. And registering pets, or fake pets, is becoming a favored tool of these activists. Last year, a man in Ventura County was accused of registering four fake cats to vote. On her social media, Yourex posted a picture of her dog wearing an “I voted” sticker and posing with her ballot, according to authorities.

Such stunts, however, come at a price — Yourex faces up to six years in state prison.

Why it matters now

The dog incident comes on top of a high-profile battle between the county and the U.S. Department of Justice over access to sensitive voter data. The O.C. Registrar of Voters has said it won’t hand over the data without a criminal warrant or an explicit privacy agreement with the DOJ. Now, the matter is in federal court.

O.C. supervisors Janet Nguyen and Don Wagner sought to order the registrar to do an emergency purging of voter rolls, with a special focus on eliminating non-humans, ahead of the upcoming November special election. Voters will decide then whether they want to temporarily adopt new congressional districts intended to improve Democrats’ chances of taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year. It’s a high-stakes bid to fend off Republicans in Texas who are trying to do the same for their party.

What’s next?

Nguyen and Wagner’s colleagues on the board of supervisors said their request to have the registrar scrutinize voter rolls came too late to discuss at Tuesday’s meeting. They could, however, put it on the agenda for their next scheduled meeting Sept. 23.

How to keep tabs on the Orange County Board of Supervisors

The Orange County Board of Supervisors meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month. Meetings start at 9:30 a.m.

Here’s how you can follow along:

• Attend in person: The board meets in the County Administration North, Board Hearing Room, First Floor, 400 W. Civic Center Drive, Santa Ana.
• Listen to the meeting via phone: Call (866) 590-5055. Access code: 4138489
• Watch the live broadcast

To submit a comment, you can attend in person, dial in, or submit a comment via email to response@ocgov.com.