From the St. Louis Post Dispatch:

Election judge cast 2 absentee ballots
By Jo Mannies
POST-DISPATCH POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
10/20/2006

A veteran Republican election judge in St. Louis County has acknowledged to election officials that he illegally cast two absentee ballots for the Nov. 7 election.

County Election Board Chairman John Diehl said the judge was told Friday that he can no longer work at the polls on Election Day. Evidence of the man's two votes will be turned over to county prosecutors, who will be decide whether to take legal action, Diehl said.

People convicted of voting more than once face a minimum fine of up to $2,500 and a maximum penalty of five years in jail. They also permanently lose their right to vote.

Diehl added that the election judge was elderly, and told election officials that he hadn't meant to vote twice.

County election officials took the action after the Post-Dispatch had inquired about a tip the paper had received that alleged the election judge had illegally cast two votes on Oct. 9 at the county Election Board's headquarters in Maplewood. He cast one vote before an election-judge training class, and then voted again afterward. Diehl confirmed that account.

Diehl said that the Election Board had learned of the judge's action on Oct. 10, and that officials had been planning to confront him soon.

"He has worked for us for a while," Diehl said. "We don't believe it was an intentional or devious act."

Diehl declined to identify the election judge. The Post-Dispatch called the home of the man identified by sources as the judge and talked to his wife, who said she was unaware of the controversy.

The man isn't the first county election judge in trouble for illegally voting twice. Diehl confirmed that a Democratic election judge was fired last summer, after officials determined that judge had illegally cast two absentee ballots for the Aug. 8 primary.

Evidence of that judge's illegal votes also was turned over to the county prosecutor's office, Diehl said. He added that the board had not been told of any action.

The current incident comes as the county is dealing with an unexpectedly high number of absentee voters for a midterm election. "The line is out the door," Diehl said, referring to the board's office at 12 Sunnen Drive in Maplewood.

So far, almost 5,000 absentee ballots have been cast in St. Louis County, election officials said. People are allowed to cast absentee ballots in Missouri by mail or in person. Acceptable reasons include being disabled or expecting to be out of their polling jurisdiction on Election Day.