Election judge sentenced to jail for allowing 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots

A northern Minnesota judge handed down a 30-day jail sentence to a head election judge Monday for the felony offense of allowing 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots.

Timothy Scouton, 65, of Nevis, Minn., removed his glasses and closed his eyes on camera during his virtual sentencing in Hubbard County District Court. His body shook and he wiped away tears as Judge Kathryn Lorsbach explained why she believed jail time was necessary.

Scouton, who pleaded guilty in March, oversaw the voting precinct at Badoura Township, a small community south of Park Rapids that had 83 voters on Nov. 5, 2024. Scouton said he couldn’t locate registration forms so he instructed election judges to write names of new voters on a list and check their IDs to verify they lived in the township.

But the judge said Scouton admitted in his plea that the forms were later located in the box that he returned to the county auditor.




https://www.startribune.com/election-judge-sentenced-to-jail-for-allowing-11-unregistered-voters-to-cast-ballots/601855634