As voter-fraud cases go, it was brazen: Not only did Vincent Marzello allegedly pose as a woman to vote twice in the 2016 election, but he also signed up as a ballot inspector for the New Hampshire Democratic Party.
Mr. Marzello, 65, was charged last week with wrongful voting after he told Project Veritas in an undercover video that he cast ballots twice, landing on law enforcement’s radar when he attempted to obtain a voter ID in the name of Helen Elisabeth Ashley, his alter-ego.
“I got in trouble because I voted twice, and the cops found out because I went to get the voter ID,” Mr. Marzello said in the Aug. 21 video.
The case prompted New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald to complete a review of pending voting-fraud cases and strengthen the state’s enforcement of election law, according to a recorded phone call between Mr. MacDonald and Project Veritas President James O’Keefe.
“We need to do better,” Mr. MacDonald, a Republican, said on the call. “We’ve got a plan in place to do better.”
— James O’Keefe (@JamesOKeefeIII) September 9, 2020
The response came as something of a coup for Mr. O’Keefe, who met with top state prosecutors Sept. 2 to show them the video of Mr. Marzello confessing. The West Lebanon man was charged the next day with felony wrongful voting and a civil charge of falsely applying for and obtaining a ballot.
The Washington Times has reached out to the New Hampshire attorney general’s office.
Mr. Marzello had no voter ID when he sought to vote disguised as Helen Ashley in 2016, but was able to cast a ballot by signing an affidavit swearing that he was “the identical person whom I represent myself to be.” The affidavit was accompanied by a photo showing him in a wig and women’s clothing.
New Hampshire State Trooper James Decker, who led the investigation and turned over the file to prosecutors in December, said that the Newport Department of Motor Vehicles notified authorities when Mr. Marzello sought to obtain a voter ID after the election.
“I think it speaks for itself when a 61-year-old man can walk in with no ID and no supporting documents and sell himself as a 32-year-old woman just by signing off some papers, and three different city officials sign off on it,” Trooper Decker said. “I think that speaks volumes.”
Deputy Attorney General Jane Young said the delay in processing the case resulted from redeploying staff from the election law unit to handle novel coronavirus-related matters, and she credited Project Veritas for pursuing the case.
“Without the involvement of Project Veritas, would we have brought the case today? Likely not,” she told the New Hampshire Union Leader on Sept. 3. “We have a couple more voter cases, and in the run-up to the presidential election, we are giving them to more than just the one attorney we have in the election law unit.”
Project Veritas, known for its undercover video stings, has a history of pursuing investigations related to voter fraud and election irregularities, particularly in New Hampshire, where the group has been active since 2012.
A 2012 sting showed Project Veritas investigators requesting and receiving the ballots of deceased voters — but not filling out the ballots — prompting a state probe that was later dropped.
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