Former Bucks County Resident Indicted After Voter Fraud Investigation

A former Bucks County man has been charged with two counts of voter fraud after allegedly casting ballots in both Pennsylvania and Florida in the 2020 general election, federal prosecutors announced last Friday.

Matthew Laiss, 31, of Bethlehem, was charged by indictment with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud, according to David Metcalf, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The indictment states that Laiss was registered to vote in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, until August 2020, when he moved to Frostproof, Florida.

Once he moved, he applied for and obtained a Florida driver’s license and registered to vote in that state the same month, federal authorities said.

Prosecutors allege that on or about Oct. 31, 2020, Laiss completed and returned a Pennsylvania mail-in ballot that had been sent to his parents’ address in Ottsville.

Analysis Looked At PA Ballot Fraud Cases

The indictment further alleges that on or about Nov. 3, 2020, Laiss voted in person at a polling location in Frostproof, Florida.

Both votes were for the offices of president and vice president, according to the indictment.

If convicted, Laiss faces a maximum possible sentence of five years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of $10,000 to $250,000 on each count.

The FBI and the Pennsylvania Department of State investigated the case.

The Bucks County Board of Elections declined comment on the case.

In an unrelated case last Friday, federal prosecutors in the region also indicted a 39-year-old Philadelphia woman with one count of voting more than once in a federal election and one count of voter fraud.

Last month, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office charged an official for the Northampton Township Republican Committee with submitting a mail-in ballot application for her deceased father.

Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.