Pennsylvania Man Accused of Casting Dead Mother’s Ballot

Election officials begin counting absentee ballots at City Hall in Beloit, Wis., on Nov. 3, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A Pennsylvania man has been charged with illegally voting in place of his deceased mother during the 2020 general election.

Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple in Delaware County, admitted to authorities that he registered deceased relatives as voters on Aug. 20 and requested, filled out, and sent in an absentee ballot for his late mother, the Office of the District Attorney in Delaware County announced on Dec. 21.

Bartman, a registered Republican, told authorities that he cast the ballot under his mother’s name for President Donald Trump.

Records show that Bartman used the state’s voter registration system to register his mother, Elizabeth Bartman, who died in 2008, and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Weihman, who died last year, as voters.

He subsequently sent an online request for an absentee ballot for his mother, officials alleged. After receiving a ballot, Bartman filled it out and sent it back to the Bureau of Election, where it was received and recorded on Oct. 28 and counted on Nov. 3.

Bartman was arraigned on Dec. 18 and charged with two counts of perjury and one count of unlawful voting.

“Respecting the integrity of our election process is the sacred duty of every American,” District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a statement. “Our investigation has determined that Mr. Bartman intentionally and willfully violated our election laws by registering two deceased individuals as voters and completed his criminal acts by requesting and returning an absentee ballot for one of those individuals.”

Stollsteimer also noted that this was the only known case of a “dead person” voting in Delaware County. The district attorney added that although he thinks the 2020 election was “the most secure,” the case should “trouble our state lawmakers.”

This comes as Trump and his allies are challenging the 2020 election results in Pennsylvania, alleging that widespread voter fraud occurred and illegal ballots were cast. The Trump legal team has filed a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a review of three Pennsylvania Supreme Court rulings that the campaign claims “illegally changed” the mail-in ballot laws “immediately before and after the 2020 presidential election.”

That lawsuit is seeking all available remedies including the possibility to vacate the votes cast by the slate of Democrat electors.

Allegations about election fraud have been repeatedly denied by leading election officials, while critics and members of the media have characterized the claims as “baseless.”

However, a growing number of witnesses and experts have testified about the possibility that a significant proportion of votes were cast and counted in allegedly fraudulent circumstances or in violation of state election codes and the U.S. Constitution.

Earlier this month, another Pennsylvania man, Ralph Holloway Thurman, was charged with allegedly attempting to vote in place of his son during the 2020 election until he was discovered by a poll worker who recognized him.