A California woman who registered her pet dog to vote and submitted ballots in the animal’s name has been ordered to help fund a very public warning against voter fraud - featuring the four-legged fiend herself.
asserted
who → register → fiend
Laura Lee Yourex, of Costa Mesa, faced five felony charges after allegedly registering her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, to vote in two California elections, including the controversial 2021 gubernatorial recall election that sought to remove Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom from office.
uncertain
that → face → office
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Maya’s ballot was counted in the 2021 recall election, while a second ballot submitted in the dog’s name during the 2022 primary election was not counted.
uncertain
ballot → accord → election
The bizarre case came to light after Yourex allegedly took to social media to boast about the scheme, even posting a photograph of Maya donning an 'I voted' sticker while posing alongside a mail-in ballot.
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I → come → ballot
Prosecutors said the posts helped expose the alleged misconduct, which ultimately led to criminal charges in September 2025.
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which → say → September
But the case took an unusual turn when Yourex agreed to turn her own social media evidence into a public service warning about the very crime she had admitted committing.
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she → take → crime
As part of her plea agreement, Yourex pleaded guilty on April 10 to one count of knowingly registering a nonexistent person to vote.
She also agreed to pay $1,500 toward four anti-voter fraud billboards displaying the photograph she had previously shared of Maya wearing the 'I voted' sticker.
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I → plead → sticker
Laura Lee Yourex, of Costa Mesa, submitted ballots in the name of her dog, Maya Jean Yourex, during California’s gubernatorial recall election in 2021 and the state’s 2022 primary election, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office
The billboards carry a blunt message for motorists traveling through Orange County.
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billboards → submit → County
If you can’t legally vote, don’t vote.
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you → vote → ?
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office will prosecute,' the signs read.
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signs → prosecute → ?
'As a result, the 2022 primary ballot cast in Maya Jean’s name was challenged and rejected,' the OC DA's office said.
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office → cast → name
The 2021 election to recall California Governor Gavin Newsom was voted down by 61.9 percent of voters, the release noted.
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release → recall → voters
The campaign is designed to make clear that registering an ineligible person to vote and submitting an unlawful ballot can have serious criminal consequences.
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registering → design → consequences
According to prosecutors, the billboards will remain in place along the 55 and 22 freeways until California’s midterm election on November 3.
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billboards → accord → November
The district attorney’s office also released a photograph of one of the signs, putting Maya’s image at the center of a public campaign against election fraud.
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office → release → fraud
The investigation began after the Orange County Registrar of Voters alerted the district attorney’s office to the alleged voter fraud on October 28, 2024.
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Registrar → begin → October
The case was fully dismissed earlier this week after Yourex pleaded guilty in April to one count of knowingly registering a nonexistent person to vote and agreeing to pay for four anti-voter billboards displaying her pet
By that point, the pooch had already died yet prosecutors said Yourex subsequently shared another social media post featuring the dog’s identification tag alongside a vote-by-mail ballot.
Her alleged caption was particularly eye catching: 'maya is still getting her ballot.'
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maya → dismiss → ballot
The post became another element of the case against Yourex, whose conduct prosecutors said she had openly discussed online.
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she → become → Yourex
In a sworn statement included in her plea agreement, Yourex acknowledged registering the animal as a voter.
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Yourex → swear → voter
'On or about 5/7/20, in Orange County, I did willfully and unlawfully cause an animal, to wit: a dog, to be registered as a voter, knowing that animal was not entitled to registration as a nonexistent person, and mailed and delivered that affidavit to a county elections official,' she wrote.
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she → cause → official
Although Yourex initially faced five felony charges, the case was fully dismissed earlier this week following her guilty plea and agreement to fund the billboard campaign, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
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case → face → Office
The resolution brings an end to a case that began with an election office referral and escalated after prosecutors examined the woman’s social media activity.
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prosecutors → bring → activity
The outcome also leaves a lasting public reminder of the consequences of attempting to circumvent election laws with Maya’s photograph serving as an unlikely warning to would-be offenders.
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photograph → leave → offenders
Trump recently slammed mail-in ballots as 'fraud' and publicly said he wanted to sign an executive order outlawing the voting method
The story comes after the Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the Orange County Registrar of Voters Bob Page in June for allegedly refusing to provide the Justice Department with records pertaining to the removal of people lacking documentation from its voter registration list, the Seattle Times reported.
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Times → slam → list
Trump recently slammed mail-in ballots as 'fraud' and publicly said he wanted to sign an executive order outlawing the voting method.
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he → slam → method
The president snubbed the expansion of mail-in voting in the 2020 election to accommodate for the pandemic.
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president → snub → pandemic
He declared mail-in ballots created widespread 'fraud' that he claims is to blame for his loss to Joe Biden.
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he → declare → Biden
But four years later during his successful 2024 campaign, he repeatedly pushed his supporters to embrace voting by mail.
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he → push → mail
The pendulum swung again when the president took to his Truth Social to slam the idea of voting in elections by mail ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
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president → swing → elections
Trump said he will be 'leading a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots' and overhaul voting machines that he claims were used by Democrats to steal that 2020 election for Joe Biden.
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he → say → Biden
He did not give a timeline for issuance of an executive order on ending the voting method, though it's likely to come before the 2026 midterm elections as Republicans aim to hold onto their majorities in the House and Senate.
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Republicans → give → House
Video emerged showing a local lawmaker and an accomplice stuffing papers into a ballot drop box in Michigan ahead of local elections.
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lawmaker → show → elections
At the White House on August 18, Trump reiterated his post, claiming: 'We've got to stop mail-in voting and Republicans have to lead the charge.
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Republicans → reiterate → charge
'
'The Democrats want it because they have horrible policy,' he told reporters gathered in the Oval Office for the president's meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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he → want → Zelensky
'If you have mail-in voting, you're not going to have many Democrats get elected.
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Democrats → have → voting
'That's bigger than anything having to do with redistricting, believe me.
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That → have → me
And the Republicans have to get smart,' he concluded.
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he → have → ?
Trump kicked off his rant by claiming that the US is the 'only country in the world that uses mail-in voting.
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that → kick → voting
'
'All others gave it up because of the massive voter fraud encountered,' Trump claimed.
But many nations use mail-in voting – including countries whose leaders are convening at the White House.
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leaders → give → House
Some countries that have no-excuse mail-in voting, meaning they do not need a reason to vote by mail rather than in person, are Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Spain, and many others.
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they → have → person
…and 4 more, not listed.
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