ALBANY, NY — A former Republican county election commissioner in upstate New York pleaded guilty Wednesday to soliciting absentee ballots on behalf of other registered voters.
Jason Schofield of Troy resigned from the Rensselaer County Board of Elections last month. He admitted that in 2021 he illegally used voters’ names and dates of birth in connection with 12 absentee ballot applications he submitted electronically to the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Portal, according to the federal prosecutors.
Schofield, 43, admitted that he falsely certified that he was the voter requesting each of the absentee ballots.
When Schofield was originally arraigned in September, his attorney said Schofield maintained he was innocent of the charges in the 12-count indictment.
Schofield is scheduled to be sentenced on May 12. He faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release of up to three years for each charge.