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Bruce Bartman, 70, of Marple Township, is a registered Republican and allegedly used the state's online voter registration portal to register both his dead mother, Elizabeth Bartman, and his dead mother-in-law, Elizabeth Weihman, as Republican voters on Aug. 20, 2020, according to Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer.
After the Bureau of Elections received and recorded an absentee ballot in Bartman's dead mother's name on Oct. 28, 2020, the vote it contained was counted in the tally for the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, the DA's office said.
“In his political frustration, he chose to do something stupid,” his lawyer Samuel Stretton told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
“And for that, he is very sorry.”
Bartman's case is the only known instance of a "dead person" voting in the county, the DA's office said.
Bartman was sentenced to five years of probation on two counts of felony perjury and one count of unlawful voting.
Bartman will also lose his right to vote for four years.
Bartman was arraigned on Dec. 18, 2020, and released on $100,000 unsecured bail.
“Respecting the integrity of our election process is the sacred duty of every American,” said Stollsteimer.
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