Final inmate sentenced as part of 2020 voter fraud investigation in Alachua County

All 10 inmates charged with voter fraud following a 2020 voter drive held by the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office have now been adjudicated guilty and sentenced.

Kelvin Bolton, the last inmate to be sentenced, pled guilty Tuesday after initially requesting a trial by jury. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Nine of the inmates charged after a state investigation reached verdicts through plea agreements while one, John Rivers, was found guilty after a jury trial in May. Sentences ranged from probation to between 12 and 36 months in state prison.

The investigation into voter fraud in Alachua County stemmed from a series of complaints filed by Gainesville resident Mark Glaeser, a database researcher and programmer who says he found thousands of people across the state who registered or voted illegally.

In Alachua County alone, Glaeser identified about 100 people — many of whom were incarcerated at the time — who he believes voted illegally.

More: Ninth inmate sentenced for felony voter fraud charges in Alachua County

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At least 10 of the initially 34 inmates named by Glaeser had prior felony convictions and registered to vote and/or voted while incarcerated at the Alachua County Jail in July 2020 in connection with a voter drive held by the Supervisor of Elections Office. The jail visits took place after the passage of Amendment 4, which was intended to restore voter rights for felons convicted of non-violent crimes.

Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton testified at Rivers’ trial in May and said her former outreach director, TJ Pyche, who visited the jail and spoke to inmates, was an "outstanding employee." She said she met with the employee each day prior to him speaking with inmates, telling him to be sure he is clear on the Amendment 4 rules.

Despite the numerous people charged with voter fraud in connection to the outreach program, Barton said she feels her office did a good job educating people and that she would continue the inmate outreach program in the future.

No employees with the supervisor's office were found to violate the law.

In April 2022, however, a report released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Office’s practice of mass registering of jail inmates “could compromise the integrity of the Florida Voter Registration System.”

So far, State Attorney Brian Kramer's office has chosen to prosecute more former inmates with voter fraud than any other district attorney in Florida. Some blame the state for failing to secure a system that easily identifies whether convicts have paid all associated fines and sentencing, while others blame lawmakers for changing the intention of the voter-approved Amendment 4.

Bolton, who was the only inmate left to be sentenced after Christopher Wiggins was given 53 weeks in June, had an attorney from Orlando, Roger L. Weeden, and filed a felony motion for entrapment.

Bolton wrote The Gainesville Sun a letter from jail to explain his case, saying he interpreted the visits as meaning he could legally vote.

“I am writing this letter in hopes that the public can be made aware of my situation due to the trust of (election) officials who I thought was helping me better my life, and now wants to throw me to the wolves instead of accepting responsibility for what they informed us of what was right and legal,” Bolton wrote.

"I would first like to say that there was no malicious intent when I registered to vote and voted," the letter reads. "Had I fully understood the laws at that time I would have never done so."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Inmate sentenced following voter fraud charges in Alachua County