A Minnesota head election judge has been arrested and charged with two felony counts for allegedly permitting 11 unregistered voters to cast ballots during the 2024 election.
Timothy Michael Scouton, 64, of Nevis, served as the head election judge in Badoura Township, a rural precinct east of Park Rapids.
According to a criminal complaint filed on Friday, Scouton bypassed legal protocols, instructing election workers to disregard voter registration requirements.
The investigation was initiated after Hubbard County Auditor Kay Rave discovered discrepancies in the election materials returned by Scouton.
Among the ballots and documents was a glaring omission: no completed voter registration forms for the 11 individuals who had reportedly cast ballots, according to KSTP.com.
According to court filings, Scouton underwent both basic election judge training and head judge training earlier this year.
On November 7, Rave alerted authorities after discovering that the required registration documentation for the 11 individuals was missing
Fox 9 reported:
Once the auditor found the forms, Scouton said he and the other election judges did not use them, according to the criminal complaint.
The auditor then spoke with police on Nov. 13 and confirmed that 11 people who voted did not complete the registration forms used to authenticate their identities.
The investigator then spoke with another judge who worked with Scouton on election night. That judge reported Scouton instructed her to not use the Minnesota Voter Registration Application form, according to the criminal complaint.
The judge added that Scouton’s son was also working as a judge, and that he would have been responsible for registering applications because he was the first person voters spoke to when they entered.
The investigator also spoke to a different judge who said he was not aware the Minnesota Voter Registration Application forms were required or existed. The judge added that Scouton only instructed him to have new voters sign the back of a book, according to the criminal complaint.
Scouton declined to provide a statement and was later arrested at the Hubbard County Sheriff’s Office.
Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon called the situation “extremely serious” and emphasized the importance of upholding election laws.
“Election judges take an oath to administer elections in accordance with the law, a deliberate failure to do so is unlawful and a betrayal of the public trust,” Simon’s office stated.
Scouton made his initial court appearance on Friday and was released pending a January 6 hearing. If convicted, he could face up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
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