California woman to fund anti-fraud billboards after registering dog to vote

Laura Lee Yourex, a 64-year-old woman from Costa Mesa, California, has had her felony voter fraud charges dismissed following a plea agreement with the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Yourex was originally charged with five felonies after admitting to registering her dog, Maya Jean, to vote and submitting ballots in the animal's name during the 2021 gubernatorial recall election and the 2022 primary election.

One of the fraudulent ballots was successfully counted during the 2021 recall, while a subsequent attempt in 2022 was rejected. The investigation was prompted by social media posts from Yourex, which included a photo of the dog wearing an ‘I Voted’ sticker and a later post featuring a mail-in ballot alongside the dog's ID tag.

As part of her plea deal, Yourex pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of knowingly registering a nonexistent person to vote. Her sentence requires her to pay $1,500 to fund four anti-voter fraud billboards in Orange County. The billboards, which feature a photo of her late dog, carry the message: ‘Don’t be a dog. Voter Fraud is a Crime. If you can’t legally vote, don’t vote.’ The advertisements are scheduled to remain visible along the 55 and 22 freeways through the November election.