Florida man who tried to get ballot for dead wife charged

Florida authorities say they’ve filed a voter fraud charge against a man who said he said he “wanted to test the system” when he tried to obtain a mail-in ballot for his deceased wife.

Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett said he contacted the sheriff’s office after a review of voter rolls showed that Larry Wiggins’ wife had been dead for two years. Staffers determined that Wiggins forged his late wife’s name on the ballot request, according to the Bradenton Herald.

Wiggins, who was arrested last Thursday on a voter fraud charge, told deputies that he was “testing the system to see if worked.”

Bennett said such attempts are unusual in Manatee County. Researchers say that voter fraud in general is rare in the U.S.

“Our message is that the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections will prosecute any attempt at voter fraud. If you are caught, we are committed to prosecute,” Bennett said.

There was no online docket for Wiggins on the Manatee County Clerk of Court’s website Saturday, so it was unclear if Wiggins had an attorney.

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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.