Former Democratic congressman pleads guilty to bribing an elections judge to stuff primary ballots: report

On Monday, the Justice Department announced that former Rep. Michael "Ozzie" Myers (D-PA) has pleaded guilty to several election crimes, including "conspiracy to deprive voters of civil rights, bribery, obstruction of justice, falsification of voting records, and conspiring to illegally vote in a federal election."

This comes after he was implicated in a criminal scheme to stuff primary ballot boxes for various Democratic candidates from 2014 to 2018 — and paid off a local elections judge to do it.

"Specifically, Myers admitted in court to bribing the Judge of Elections for the 39th Ward, 36th Division in South Philadelphia, Domenick J. Demuro, in a fraudulent scheme over several years," said the DOJ's statement. "Demuro, who was charged separately and pleaded guilty in May 2020, was responsible for overseeing the entire election process and all voter activities of his Division in accord with federal and state election laws."

"Myers admitted to bribing Demuro to illegally add votes for certain candidates of their mutual political party in primary elections," said the report. "Some of these candidates were individuals running for judicial office whose campaigns had hired Myers, and others were candidates for various federal, state, and local elective offices that Myers favored for a variety of reasons. Myers would solicit payments from his clients in the form of cash or checks as 'consulting fees,' and then use portions of these funds to pay Demuro and others to tamper with election results." These "fees" ranged from $300 to $5,000 a pop.

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In addition, Myers engaged in a similar scheme with another election judge in South Philadelphia, Marie Beren, who has also separately taken a plea agreement.

"During Election Day itself, Myers conferred with Beren via cell phone while she was at the polling station about the number of votes cast for his preferred candidates," said the report. "Beren would report to Myers how many 'legit votes,' meaning actual voters, had appeared at the polls and cast ballots. If actual voter turnout was high, Beren would add fewer fraudulent votes in support of Myers’ preferred candidates. From time to time, Myers would instruct Beren to shift her efforts from one of his preferred candidates to another. Specifically, Myers would instruct Beren 'to throw support' behind another candidate during Election Day if he concluded that his first choice was comfortably ahead." Beren would then have her associates falsify poll books to make the fake votes seem legitimate.

There remains no evidence any general election results were tampered with.

Republicans led by President Donald Trump have tried to claim widespread fraud undermined the 2020 presidential election to hand Joe Biden the presidency, but no evidence of such a scheme has ever materialized and one of the only people prosecuted for election crimes in Pennsylvania related to that election was a Republican who tried to cast a ballot for his dead mother.